Lovely Misery
by videogamenerd101
Summary: May, Leaf, Misty, and Dawn were just typical sophomores at Jubilife High: shopping on the weekends, partying at night, and dating the most popular guys. Suddenly, the four teens were kidnapped, forced to solve a murder case without any knowledge of crime, and faced with the repeat of history. But when four guys were involved, things became even more complicated. [CS LGS/ORS PS IKS]
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

_Saturday, 5:06 AM; Viridian City, Kanto_

"Silver, look!" exclaimed a girl who seemed to be in her teens, her brown hair bobbing up and down as she jumped excitedly. "We've finally reached Viridian City!"

"Yeah, I know," muttered the redhead, staring at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in sight. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal? We're _finally _in Viridian City!" The girl spread her arms, gesturing towards the tall skyscrapers around them. "They say that it's one of the most beautiful cities in Kanto, maybe even the whole Pokémon world! And don't forget our Gym battles in a few hours! I'm so psyched for them already!"

The boy, whose name was Silver, rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's giddiness. True, he thought that she was pretty, and she did prevail in the Silver Conference and ended up beating him, but sometimes he wondered why he had asked her out in the first place. After all, he kept telling himself, ever since he was a young child, that he would devote his whole life to being the best Pokémon Trainer. Not to some girl who constantly annoyed him.

He didn't understand why he had agreed to go on a journey with this girl, considering that he wasn't exactly what you would call the social type. He was more of the antisocial type, if there was even a social group with that name. Basically, he preferred being in his own company.

And all of a sudden, right after the final round of the Silver Conference, he had asked out this girl on a date that ended very well, to his surprise. The girl had thought that they were perfect for each other, and they were both outstanding Trainers. So she had offered him to go on a journey through Kanto together. Naturally, he accepted the offer, just because it would give him a good excuse to get out of Johto. But the painful memories he would have to experience when he came back to his _lovely_ hometown of Viridian City had never crossed his mind. Until now.

Silver was deeply lost in thought and he hadn't realized that the girl was tugging at his arm. He was caught off guard when he heard his girlfriend's frantic voice say his name. "Silver, did you even listen to a thing I said?"

He averted his gaze from the hard, concrete sidewalk they were standing on to the girl who was now shaking him like he was a lifeless rag doll. "What do you want, Lyra?"

"I asked you why you don't want to be in Viridian City," she stated sternly, crossing her arms. She tapped her foot as she patiently awaited an answer.

He sighed, exasperated by her stubbornness. After a moment of contemplation, he decided just to tell her the truth… the half-truth, at least. "Memories… Dreadful, heartbreaking memories…"

Lyra eyed him quizzically, not believing a word that her boyfriend had said. She asked him, "How could you possibly have bad memories in such a gorgeous city?"

Silver had to admit one thing: even if he despised this metropolis so much, it was quite impressive. High buildings and skyscrapers hovered above them. Willows, firs, and other trees that he couldn't name dotted the city here and there with neatly trimmed shrubbery encircling each and every one of them. Lush green grass covered every inch of the city that wasn't already covered by concrete, asphalt, or the foundation of a building, tulips and lilies scattered across the fresh soil. Dawn was creeping into the sky, the sun somewhat visible behind the horizon.

Albeit the nature was mesmerizing if you paid close attention, the memories of Silver's frightening childhood still came back to him nonetheless. He had already gotten over them, and almost forgot them, but coming back to Viridian City caused his heart to ache like it had when he was only five years old.

"It's… hard to explain," was all Silver had to say to Lyra. "You won't understand…"

Lyra began to tap her chin as she began to consider all of the possibilities. When her chocolate eyes widened, she suddenly grabbed Silver's hand and dragged him to a nearby bench. She brushed off the dirt and leaves that were lying on the wooden bench and sat down. She motioned for Silver to sit down next to her, and he obediently obeyed, trying his best to keep his distance from her.

That didn't go as planned. Lyra just scooted right next to him and beamed. He sighed, wondering why he had agreed to go on a journey with her in the first place instead of going on one by himself.

_At least she's not making any physical contact._

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity to them. Silver kept fidgeting with his pitch black Pokégear, constantly looking at the map to see where he and Lyra would be heading to next after defeating the Viridian City Gym Leader in battle.

Startling Silver just a tad bit, Lyra suddenly said, "It's about your dad, right?"

This surprised Silver like never before, as he was amazed by how she was able to quickly come to the right conclusion. "…Yeah," he admitted. "The memories of him always haunted me during my journey in Johto. He was the reason why I had become a Trainer in the first place. I… I wanted to show the world that I can be just as strong as him by showing how strong I can be with my Pokémon. But I just ended up seeming cruel and vicious towards them… Just like my father was."

Lyra nodded, acknowledging his points. Silver cleared his throat and continued on. "But it was thanks to you that I realized how a Trainer is really supposed to treat his or her Pokémon. If you were never in my life, Lyra, who knows what malicious things I would be doing right now."

She smiled, blushing from his kind compliment. "You don't know how much that means to me," said Lyra sheepishly. "But Silver… Don't let those memories get the better of you. When you start remembering them, you act totally different and all. So promise me that this will be the last time that any of us will mention this?"

"Promise," agreed Silver. He put his Pokégear back into his pocket as he stood up and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?" demanded Lyra, following him. "You know that the Gym isn't even open right now!"

"Of course I know that," retorted Silver, keeping his cool. "I'm heading to the Pokémon Center because there's really no better place to go at this time of day." He stopped in his tracks as he turned his head around slightly just so he could see her. "You coming or not?"

"Uh… of course I am!" she replied hesitantly. Lyra had to jog to keep up with Silver's quick pace, but she was still able to be in a close radius from him.

As Lyra kept jogging to keep up with Silver, she began to get tired, a few drops of sweat forming on her forehead. She had to slow down. Fatigue wasn't something she would like to experience right now.

So she did the one thing that seemed logical to her. She stopped jogging and fell to her knees, panting. She planned to stay in this position for only a minute or two so she wouldn't lose track of Silver.

Lyra needed a break after her mini-marathon, after all.

* * *

"Hey, wasn't that girl just with that creepy redhead earlier?" said a teenage boy who was hiding behind a huge pine tree. He tilted his head towards a girl who was sitting on the sidewalk, trying to catch her breath. She wasn't as attractive as most other girls he had seen, but her body structure was breathtakingly magnificent, her blue denim overalls hugging her flat stomach.

"Yeah, I believe so," another boy about the same age responded. "What should we do to her?"

"We do what we've been training ourselves to do," answered yet another boy. "Are you really that stupid?" The second teen couldn't think of any way to reply to his comrade's disdainful remark.

"We aren't here to get in a fight, you guys," pointed out the first boy, wishing that the other two weren't with him at the moment to constantly annoy him with their bickering. "This is why _I _am superior from all of you. I'm the only one who actually gets the job done right." He cleared his throat and continued on. "Now stop fighting, and let's finish this. I'll give the signal now."

The first boy locked eyes with another one of his partners at the other side of the street. He wasn't doing a good job of hiding behind a willow, his hair protruding from behind the tree. He sighed, realizing how unprepared his friends were.

_Why do they always have to act so unprofessional when I'm acting serious?_

But it was now or never. They had been preparing for this day for such a long time, and they couldn't just give up now.

His ally who was at the other side of the street gave him another signal. A sly grin crept onto both of their faces.

It was time.

"Move."

* * *

Lyra decided that she had enough rest already, her breath beginning to steady. She got on her feet, brushed the dust off of her white socks, and searched her surroundings for Silver. Unfortunately, he wasn't in sight.

_He must be at the Pokémon Center already._

She grabbed her pink Pokégear that was hanging from a lanyard on her yellow bag. She turned it on and looked at the map, trying to find where the Pokémon Center was. It didn't take her long to figure out that the Pokémon Center was only a short stroll to the north.

Lyra closed the Pokégear, hooked it onto her lanyard, and began walking off, noticing that the sun was almost completely up by now.

Suddenly, she was forced onto the ground, banging her head on the rough asphalt in the process. She felt lucky for wearing her hat, because she reasoned that the impact of the hit would have been just a bit worse without her trusty cap.

But just when Lyra thought that the pain would end already, she felt a hand positioning itself into a choking position on her neck.

She started to panic. She didn't like this. Not one bit. She managed one glance at whoever was threatening to choke her. Whoever he was, he seemed like a typical teenage boy. But that was all Lyra could make out of him. His entire head was covered by a black mask, only revealing his eyes and the shape of his lips. She tried as hard as she could to peer into his eyes, trying to figure out what color they were, but she was too busy trying to struggle out of this person's grasp to even bother.

"Help!" yelped Lyra. "Somebody help!"

"Don't be scared," he cooed. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Then what do you want from me?" insisted Lyra.

"Do you really think we're gonna tell you?" remarked another shady character as he came into the scene. Suddenly, two more equally shady figures rushed over to her. One of them had a smug grin on his face, causing Lyra to shudder.

The teen who was hovering just above her noticed this and said, "Are you cold? You know that I can't just let a pretty girl like you shiver, especially when that _boyfriend_ of yours isn't around."

Lyra gasped. _That's right! I almost forgot about Silver!_

"Silver!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Where are you?"

"You stupid girl!" he rasped. "Stop it right now or else!"

_Or else what?_

"Silver! Officer Jenny! Nurse Joy!" Now Lyra was just screaming out names of random people, just to see if they would actually hear her. "Somebody, just help me!"

"I told you to stop it!"

Lyra opened her mouth to argue.

But she was too late.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the teenage boy got out a rifle he was hiding behind his back, aimed at Lyra's heart, and pulled the trigger.

_Boom._

* * *

_I swear that I just heard someone call my name._

Silver stopped walking to take a look around, but no one was there. He sighed.

_I'm probably just hearing things…_

He continued walking to the Pokémon Center casually.

Until he heard a loud _boom _from behind him.

Silver swiftly turned around, knowing the one thing that sound could have possibly been: a gun. Suddenly, he remembered something… or in this case, someone.

_Lyra… Wait, where's Lyra?_

"Lyra, where are you?" called out Silver. "Lyra!"

Silver began brainstorming a bunch of ideas of Lyra's possible whereabouts. He remembered seeing Lyra stop to take a rest while they were walking. So that means Lyra was somewhere behind him. Then, the possibility struck him.

_The gun sound… Lyra… could it be…?_

_No… no, no, no, no!_

Silver wouldn't admit it. No matter how much that girl annoyed him like hell, he couldn't lose her. Not now, not ever. He sprinted towards the sound of the gun, hoping that Lyra would be there safe and sound.

When he reached the bench that he and Lyra had been sitting on earlier, he couldn't believe what he saw when he laid his eyes on the young girl's bloody body.

The bloody body of none other than Lyra Kotone.

He immediately fell to his knees and started shaking her as fiercely as he could, saying, "Lyra, please tell me you're awake! Just say something!" By now, Silver could feel a tear trickle down his cheek.

After a long moment of shaking and yelping, Silver knew that it was hopeless.

Lyra was already long gone.

"No… Lyra, why did it have to… happen… so early?" Silver stuttered, almost breaking into a wave of tears. "Why, Lyra? Why?"

As more tears began falling from his crimson red eyes, he placed Lyra's lifeless head in his arms and stroked her beautiful brown hair. He closed her eyelids, wishing her a peaceful rest.

For Silver, it felt like just yesterday when he had seen the girl running around New Bark Town, playing a game of chase with her Marill. It felt like just yesterday when he had seen her receive her very first Gym Badge from Falkner in Violet City. It felt like just yesterday when he had experienced a loss when she had won the Silver Conference.

All the wonderful, sweet memories were coming back to him in a flash. Even the annoying memories of her bliss just a few minutes ago.

Then he realized something. He realized something that he should've told Lyra a very long time ago.

Silver loved her.

* * *

**Yeah, I know that neither May, Leaf, Dawn, or Misty was in this chapter, but I needed to make the prologue a tragic SoulSilverShipping scene so it could give you the background on how the case first started. I feel so bad for murdering Lyra… But don't worry! Those four will all be in Chapter 1!**

**Reviews are much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 1: A Day Gone Wrong

**Chapter 1: A Day Gone Wrong**

* * *

_Saturday, 7:00 AM; Viridian City, Kanto_

Gary Oak was horrified by the scene in front of him.

He hadn't expected to feel this kind of horror when he reached the sight. Then again, this was the first time he'd ever seen an actual corpse. Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for this girl. Everyone knew who she was—Lyra Kotone was her name—and it was such a shame that she just had to die at such a young age. She was young and famous, everything a teenage girl could ever dream of; it wasn't every day that you'd hear that a sixteen-year-old girl had just beat Silver, the son of the infamous Giovanni, former leader of Team Rocket, at the final round of the Silver Conference.

Everyone in Viridian City had already been evacuated from their homes and had been forced to seek refuge in nearby Pewter City or Pallet Town. Officer Jenny had sent an emergency signal to all of the residents, and without any hesitation, everyone left the city. Nothing had yet been broadcasted about this tragic event, but Gary wouldn't be surprised if something was mentioned about this on news channels any minute now.

Gary pulled out his Pokégear that was in the pocket of his lab coat. He remembered hearing his grandfather's voice over the Pokégear, insisting Gary to get to the sight of the crime at Viridian City pronto. He had obeyed the old man and had ridden his bike all the way down here as fast as his legs could've taken him. He also remembered Gramps telling Gary that he'd receive a call right when he reached the city.

It sure didn't look like that to him.

Gary had already arrived near the dead body of Lyra ten minutes ago, and Gramps still hadn't called.

The brunet scrolled through his latest calls on his Pokégear, only to find that he had no missing calls. He sighed and put the device back into the pocket of his lab coat. As he waited for the supposed incoming call, he observed the scene more carefully. Specifically, the redhead who was cradling the girl's head in his arms. A look of remorse was plastered on his pale face.

Gary cleared his throat and casually shoved his hands into the pockets of his purple cargo pants. "Hey, your name's Silver, right?" Gary piped up, trying to start a conversation. "Son of Giovanni?"

His crimson eyes shot an intimidating look at Gary, and the boy scowled. "I don't like it when people say that I'm the son of… _him_."

The way the redhead had stressed the word "him" made Giovanni sound like an evil bandit, which he was in a way. Nonetheless, Silver's words puzzled Gary, but he just shrugged them off. "Lyra beat you in the Silver Conference, huh?"

Narrowing his eyes, he remarked, "Don't say her name." But right then, a saddened expression appeared on his face, and his eyes left Gary's and stared longingly at Lyra's.

Gary observed the way Silver was looking at this girl. It seemed like she was the only thing on his mind at the moment. The way he looked at her gave it away. It was even more evident that he had feelings for this brunette by the way his hand was clinging onto hers, his fingers tightly entwined with hers in such a loving manner. It was too obvious, too clear.

"Were you her boyfriend?" questioned Gary, leaning against a tall pine tree that happened to be standing only a few inches behind him.

Silver stayed in his kneeling position near Lyra. Without moving a muscle, he reluctantly responded, "…Yeah."

Gary nodded in acknowledgement. He had to admit that he felt a bit sympathetic towards this boy, even though he was a complete stranger to the brunet. He didn't know how it felt like to actually have a girlfriend. Sure, everyone used all of these words to describe his personality: flirt, playboy, etc. Flirting with all of the girls he came across gave his life enough pleasure already. He loved the way a girl would react when she saw him. Every one of them loved him. Heck, they were all head over heels for him. Except one.

Leaf Green. Oh, how she hated him like hell. Gary's constant flirting and teasing were more like constant annoyances to her, and his dashing looks reminded her of Magikarp and how unattractive they were. He knew that she hated him. Everybody knew that. But still, he couldn't help but be entertained by the way that brunette would always try to put him in the lowest position possible and try to scold him for everything he did. She even looked kind of cute when she was angry at him…

_What the hell are you thinking, Gary?!_

Officer Jenny's commanding voice from the other side of the crime scene made him jump a little, causing him to take his mind off his pointless pondering and back into reality. Lucky for him, the chartreuse-haired lady wasn't scolding him, and instead, her scolding was directed towards Silver.

"Young man, how many times do I have to tell you that you are _not_ allowed to be here right now!" hissed the menacing woman. "You are the only person in Viridian who has not left the city yet, and I order you to get out of here right now!" She had her hands on her hips to add to the intended effect, but Silver still wouldn't budge.

"I'm not leaving," stated the redhead blankly.

Officer Jenny sighed. "I understand that you're mourning the loss of this girl, but it's best for your safety for you to leave this instant. Listen to me, and _leave right now_."

Silver couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Why don't you try to get _him _to leave, then?" He cocked his head towards Gary.

Officer Jenny glanced toward the brunet's direction and replied, "I have received strict orders from Professor Oak to let him come into the city and help me investigate. You got a problem with that?"

After that last remark, Gary was tired of the arguing. He decided to place a mental barrier between him and the quarreling duo.

He couldn't believe that Gramps _still _hadn't called him by now.

_Ring! Ring!_

It was his Pokégear. There was only one person who it could be.

_Did it seriously take him _this _long to call me?_

"Gramps, you said that you'd call me right when I got to Viridian!" scoffed Gary, not bothering to politely greet the old man. "I thought _you_ were the one who told me not to break any promises!"

"Gary Oak, don't you dare argue against me!" countered Gramps, avoiding his grandson's question. Gary heard his grandfather sigh from the other end of the line. "All that matters is that you're at Viridian, okay? Anyways, now that you're there, I have some important news that you'd like to hear."

"Spill it, Gramps," said Gary. "Don't leave me hanging."

"I have decided that you will be accompanied by two others who will both try to help you investigate the cause of Ms. Kotone's death," continued Professor Oak, ignoring Gary's previous words. "I think you'll be happy to know who these two are."

The brunet's spirits perked up at the good news.

A smirk even began to make its way onto his face when Gary heard Gramps tell him the identities of these two people.

* * *

_Saturday, 7:00 AM; Jubilife City, Sinnoh_

May skipped into the Jubilife City Pokémon Center with a bounce in her steps. It was another typical Saturday morning, and she had decided to make a call to Petalburg City and say hi to her parents and her little brother, Max.

May took a seat at a chair that was provided and turned the PC on. Its screen flashed to life and May typed in her family's number on the keyboard. As she waited for someone to respond at the other end of the line, she placed her elbow on the table that the PC stood on, lazily rested her chin on the palm of her hand, and twirled a brown lock of hair with her free hand.

After about a minute of patient waiting, May finally saw Max's face appear on the screen. She couldn't help but beam.

"Hey, Max!" the brunette greeted. May took a good look at the screen and noticed that her parents weren't there. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"Dad's having another Gym battle, and Mom's getting some groceries," responded Max. "Anyways, how's life in Sinnoh? I bet you're failing all your classes."

May felt a little bit of anger begin to bubble inside of her. "I am _not _failing any of my classes! I'm doing just fine! Not everyone's a genius like you!"

"Whatever," sighed Max as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on. "So how's life with your friends? Misty's gotta be giving you a hell of a time over there."

For a nerdy thirteen-year-old boy, May's little brother sure used some unneeded language. But it wasn't like she didn't use any bad language herself either. "It's fine, just like it's always been, just like it always will be," she answered sternly.

A smirk appeared on her little brother's smug face as he pushed his glasses up. Then, May heard a high-pitched cry from the other end.

"Max, what was that?" asked May.

Max sighed and answered, "That's just one of Dad's Pokémon causing a ruckus. May, call me back later, okay? I've got a situation to deal with."

"'Kay then," she said. "See you later, Max."

"See ya." After those last words, the screen went blank.

May strode out of the Pokémon Center and into the hectic downtown of Jubilife City. It was a weekend, so there was no reason why the streets wouldn't be bustling with activity. Skyscrapers towered above the brunette as she made her way back to her dorm. The air was surprisingly clean for such a huge city, although there were some occasional scraps of paper floating around and landing randomly on the ground. Overlooking the whole city was the headquarters of Jubilife TV, the most famous television station in the Pokémon world. May identified some of the people walking in the streets as some of her fellow students at Jubilife High, her current school, which she was now passing by. After May, Leaf, Misty, and Dawn had all achieved their biggest dreams, their mothers (or in Misty's case, her sisters) had all insisted that the girls get a proper education. Johanna, Dawn's mom, had suggested for the girls to go to Jubilife High. It was one of the most prestigious schools ever known. Plus, it would be quite embarrassing for two Top Coordinators, the world's greatest Water Pokémon Trainer, and Professor Oak's lab assistant to go to an average high school.

May tilted her head up to check what was on the screen of the huge billboard of the Jubilife TV HQ. At the moment, it was showing some sort of news channel. It was talking about a girl's death that happened in Kanto just this morning. It was somewhat hard for May to make out what the news reporter because of the noise and racket caused by the honking of cars and chatter of people wandering the streets.

As May turned a street corner, she finally arrived at the location of the school dorms. She clambered up two flights of stairs and opened a rusty door with peeling red paint that seriously needed to be replaced.

The dorm that May shared with Leaf, Misty, and Dawn was fairly simple. She stepped into the roomy space and slipped her shoes off. Misty was lying down on the top bunk of the bunk bed on the right side of the room, her Eevee lightly sleeping in the redhead's arms. In one corner of the room, Leaf was sitting on a chair near a study desk that the four girls shared.

"Hey, guys," said May as she fell on the bed underneath the one Misty was lying on. The brunette took a look around, realizing that there was something missing. "Hey, do you guys know where Dawn is?"

"She's in the bathroom," replied Leaf, not bothering to get her eyes off of her homework. "She's getting her hair done, just like always."

May giggled. "She never changes, doesn't she…" May rested her head on a soft, feather pillow. She was about to drift off to sleep and take a very much needed nap until an idea came to mind. "Hey, why don't we go shopping tonight?"

Misty groaned, hopped off of her top bunk, and landed on the floor with ease. She directed her attention towards May, crossed her arms, and said, "May, you _always _want to go shopping on Saturday nights. Why can't we just use one of those nights to… I don't know… _relax_?" Misty's Eevee jumped onto the ground as well and stood near its Trainer. The small Evolution Pokémon nuzzled its head against Misty's leg.

"But it'll be fun, Misty!" May pointed out. "We can relax after!"

"I don't want to be mean or anything, May," began Leaf as she stood up from her seat and walked toward her two friends, "but I agree with Misty. Shopping is fun and all, but sometimes we need to try something new, you know."

"But… but…" May stuttered. She racked her brain to try and think of any other reasons why they should go to the mall tonight.

That was an epic fail.

"…Fine," the brunette finally conceded. A sigh of relief escaped Misty. "But we _are _doing something fun today, right?"

A moment of silence washed over the three. Misty tapped her chin, deep in thought, and suggested, "Why don't we go swimming after Dawn's done with her hair?"

"But that'll ruin my hair!" The blunette had approached her friends and took a seat on the bottom bunk on the left side of the room. She stroked her blueberry-colored hair and complained, "Then all this work would've been pointless!"

"Your hair looks just fine," stated Misty. "You can redo your hair afterwards. I bet it won't take you too long."

"Why don't we go to the library instead?" said Leaf. "There's this book that I need for the Book Club meeting on Monday."

"But that's boring!" whined the others in unison.

Leaf sighed and facepalmed. Then, she decided to try to blackmail her friends. "If you guys don't come with me, then I won't help you guys with your algebra homework."

That sure got their attention. "We're coming!" they all responded.

A smirk spread on the darker brunette's lips. "I thought so."

* * *

It wasn't a long walk until the girls arrived at the library. Leaf immediately headed straight towards the fiction section, looking for the book she needed for Book Club. Misty and Dawn had made their way towards other areas of the library, leaving May all by herself.

She ambled through the rows and rows of books and shelves in search of something, or anything, that caught her eye. Literature was never one of her passions, and she never planned on it being one anyways.

May didn't know this, but she was in the nonfiction section of the library, and even though she wasn't too fond of books, nonfiction was her least favorite genre. She found it boring, and the only times she ever read them were when she had to check out a book for a school project or research paper.

The brunette came across a book that had a gray cover that was falling apart. Feeling absolutely bored like never before, she decided that she might as well try to immerse herself in something. She grabbed the book from the shelf and took a seat at the nearest table. May glanced at the cover and noted that the title of the book was _History of Women in the Pokémon World. _She flipped through all the pages, and as she did so, she smelled the scent of old paper emanating from them. She scrunched her nose at the smell, and flipped back to the very first page. Out of pure boredom, she decided just to read the book's prologue, and the prologue only.

_We women seem equal to our male counterparts in every way. We are equally as successful as them, equally as free as them, and equally as bonded with our Pokémon as them. There are many heroines that mark important times in our history that shaped the present and shaped the lives we know today. _

_But what most of us don't know is that we women weren't always treated as equally as we are now. _

_Approximately 1,000 years ago, around the same time when the clash between the Hero of Truth and Hero of Ideals had occurred in the Unova region, there was a long-lasting period of gender inequality between men and women. While men lived their everyday lives at work and socialized with their friends, women were forced to stay at home and do chores around the house. We were never allowed to get a proper education, and that led to us being homeschooled instead. In some cities, women were even forced to completely cloak themselves when they wanted to go out of the house. _

_Just like history shows, this dispute eventually turned into a war. An evil organization was formed to force all women and young girls into exile. Why this organization was formed and where these women were taken still remain a mystery to historians, but the people involved with this organization did everything in their power to get rid of all females. At the end of the war, a group of young girls were able to stand up and end this horrific war. The identities of these girls, just like almost every specific about this story, remain unknown, and there are hardly any remnants from our ancient past to figure out who they were._

_Historians say that it is highly unlikely that anything like this will ever happen again. I only partially agree with them, though. History has shown to repeat itself every now and then, and even though this war hasn't been repeated, there could possibly be a day when an evil organization will rise up to power and start another war about women. _

After reading that snippet of the prologue, May was a bit terrified about what else could possibly be mentioned in the rest of the book, so she decided to stop reading it. She scanned the cover of the book, trying to find the name of the author, but all it said was that it was written by Anonymous. The brunette sighed and leaned back in the chair she was sitting on.

But even though she had stopped reading, she couldn't help but continue thinking about this past situation about women. Was it really true? Did all this really happen? And who was the person who wrote and published this book? There were so many questions floating around in her mind.

She was distracted when, suddenly, all the lights went out in the library.

May surveyed her surroundings, but nothing was visible.

_Where's Misty? Leaf? Dawn?_

She began to panic. She had no idea what was happening, but she had a bad feeling about this. This was the first time she ever experienced a blackout since she first came to Sinnoh. Was there something wrong at the Valley Windworks? Or did the librarian accidentally flip the light switch off?

No… It couldn't possibly be either. If any of those two situations had happened, May was pretty sure that the librarian would be running around, trying to calm everyone down. It wouldn't be as silent as it was now.

All of a sudden, she felt someone grab her. May felt arms being wrapped around her neck. She struggled to escape this person's grip, but no matter how much she tried to wriggle her way free, the arms would continue to get tighter and tighter. Although she couldn't see a thing, she thought that her vision was becoming blurry (_That's how it is in the movies,_ she thought). Her mind became fuzzy. Her eyelids slowly began to close. Her breathing became unsteady.

It was only a matter of time before she blacked out.

* * *

_Saturday, 8:00 AM; Location unknown_

_Where… where am I?_

May groggily opened her eyes, her sapphire orbs shining in the dark, and took a look around.

She was in a cube-like space that resembled a jail cell. The walls around her were all a dirty, murky gray that seemed like it had been around for hundreds of years. The only source of light was a dimness that came from somewhere, but where it came from, she couldn't tell.

May tried to stretch her arms out, but for some reason, she couldn't. She looked behind her, only to see her hands were in cuffs. She sighed, wondering to herself how a trip to the local library could possibly get her in jail.

Right when May was about to slump against the wall and take a nap, someone unlocked her cell. Surprised, she found her savior slowly approaching her. She couldn't quite identify who he… or she… was, but that didn't matter at the moment. The brunette was just glad that she wouldn't have to be living the rest of her life in a hellhole like this.

"May Maple, thank goodness you're conscious," stated the person. As he came closer, May came to the conclusion that this person was a man. It was obvious by the sound of his voice and his messy gray mustache. "Seems like you're breathing is just fine. Please, follow me, young lady." He gestured toward a door at the end of a narrow corridor.

May nodded and followed the man. She was able to get a better look at him, and noticed that he was wearing a lab coat and his face seemed expressionless. His pale face was wrinkled, and to top it off, his hair was just as gray as his mustache.

May couldn't help but think about how her three friends Leaf, Misty, and Dawn were doing. She wondered if they had been kidnapped along with her. She hoped that they were safe.

"By the way," the brunette suddenly chimed in, "what's your name?"

The old man chuckled as he unlocked the door. "You really don't know me? I thought Dawn had informed you a long time ago." This only confused May. How come he knew Dawn?

The man finally said, "I'm Professor Rowan, by the way."

He opened the door, and May squinted as she entered the room and faced the blinding lights.

She didn't know that this day would forever change her and her friends' lives.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for another cliffy, but I felt like it was necessary. :P So how did you like it? Leave a review, please! Thanks for reading, too!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Underground City

**Chapter 2: The Underground City**

* * *

_Saturday, 8:00 AM; Location unknown_

Misty wished that she had agreed to go shopping with May instead. She never expected to be holed up in a jail cell, thanks to Leaf's suggestion of going to the library.

Misty sighed as she once again attempted to pull at the handcuffs on her wrists, but just as expected, it proved no use. Her brows furrowed, wondering where her friends May, Leaf, and Dawn could possibly be at the moment. Were they in a similar jail cell, not too far away from where she was? Were the lights back on at the library and her friends were frantically searching for her? Or was this all just a dream? She hoped it was just a dream.

Her surroundings were pitch black. Nothing was visible at all. That changed, though, when she heard something (was that a door?) creak open. Her eyes flickered over to where she believed the sound had come from, only to find that a man was slowly approaching her cell. There was a blinding light coming from the room behind the door, but the redhead was unable to shield her eyes because of the stupid handcuffs. She had to make do with squinting, but she figured that her hands making a shield would've blocked out the light much better.

Despite that, though, Misty was still trying to figure out who this man was. His gray hair that swept to his right, the familiar tan skin, and the while lab coat that the old man wore all shouted out his name, but Misty didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet. Her suspicions were confirmed when he cleared his throat and began to speak to her.

"Hello, Misty," greeted the old man. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Misty would've been glad to see him. She usually was, anyway. But this time, she was absolutely _livid _to find him here.

"Professor Oak, why the hell did you kidnap me?!" the redhead snapped, scrunching her nose with displeasure. "You'd better get me out of here right this minute and take me back to May and the others or else…" Misty wasn't sure how to continue on. There wasn't much she could do anyways. Without the ability to move her hands and arms freely, the only two things that she could use to cause any physical damage were her head and her feet. Too bad she wasn't so great with them, though. "You have no idea what I'd do to you!" lied Misty, trying to look tough.

To her surprise, all Professor Oak did was let out a small chuckle. This only fired up the Water-type Master's anger even more, though. "Misty, you haven't changed. Not one bit." He locked eyes with her and managed a smile as he unlocked Misty's jail cell. "Miss Waterflower, can you please follow me? There's something you must see." He came up to her, held out a small key, and unlocked her handcuffs. They fell to the floor with a clatter. Misty massaged her wrists, glad that they were finally free, even if they were quite sore.

Reluctantly, the redhead followed the Pokémon professor and they walked in the direction of the door that Professor Oak had come in from. The white lights blinded Misty as her eyes tried to adjust, but she was still able to faintly make out seven figures standing outside.

She gasped with excitement when her vision was finally clear enough for her to make out who they were.

* * *

"Professor Rowan, why did you have to kidnap us like that?!" demanded May, daggers for eyes.

Thanks to the help of Professor Rowan, May had been able to walk safely out of that prison and into the sunlight. Not too long after they had been out, May had spotted Professor Elm dragging a feisty Leaf out. She had calmed down by now, but she was still a bit distraught. It was only a matter of time after that before Professor Birch and Dawn stepped out as well. She seemed happy to finally be outside, most likely so her hair and her clothes wouldn't look so bad.

"Yeah, why us of all people?" Dawn inquired, tilting her head sideways a little in a curious manner. "I mean, if it had to be us, you could've just asked nicely or something."

"Well, we considered that at first," Professor Elm managed to say as he rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment, "but if we did that, we figured that you guys would've refused to come along."

"Actually, that was your idea, Elm," Professor Birch pointed out with a smirk.

"Shut up."

"Can you guys _please _stop fighting?" muttered Leaf, the look in her eyes telling May that the darker brunette was obviously frustrated with the sudden kidnapping. "Where's Misty, anyways?"

May took a look around her, but the fiery redhead was nowhere in sight. She began to worry about her.

"Yeah, I wonder where she is…" mumbled May to herself. Her concerns were washed away when she saw yet two more figures walking out and into the warm sunlight. It was Misty, a huge grin plastered on her face when her eyes darted toward the direction of her three best friends.

"May! Dawn! Leaf!" she called out as she ran away from Professor Oak, who had been walking alongside her. She made her way towards them. "Thank Arceus you guys are safe. These jerks"—at this, Misty jerked a thumb towards the four professors—"decided to kidnap me, and I guess they decided to kidnap you guys as well." The four girls giggled in unison, but the Pokémon professors just rolled their eyes and didn't make a huge deal out of it.

"Girls," began Professor Oak, "we weren't actually the ones who kidnapped you guys."

The girls' giggling quickly subsided when they heard this. Obviously, they were a bit stunned to hear this.

"What do you mean?" asked May. "If it wasn't you guys, who could it have been, hmm?"

"Don't worry, all of your questions will be answered soon!" Professor Oak piped up. "But first, we want you girls to get a good look around Rebellion City. You'll be spending the rest of your time here until the case is closed." At those last words, the professors gave each other begrudging looks. May noted this as she made a mental note to ask what this "case" was at some other time. It didn't seem like the right moment to her to ask such a question.

"When you're done looking, you'll be able to find us at that building over there," stated Professor Rowan. He gestured towards a tall building, probably some sort of headquarters, at the center of the land in front of them. The building was taller than the rest of the buildings in the surroundings with its glass walls and metal intricacy, making the tower seem impressively modern and contemporary. "Bye now!" He waved them goodbye as he and the other three Pokémon professors ambled away from them and toward the direction of the building. All the girls could do, though, was stand, planted on the ground with looks of confusion on their faces.

There were so many questions floating around in May's head. What was Rebellion City? This was the first time she had ever heard of such a place. Who kidnapped them? Why were they kidnapped in the first place? Were they important somehow? Why were those professors there? What was this "case"? The list went on and on, but May decided to stop there before her brain would explode.

"So… what are we supposed to do?" inquired Dawn. "I didn't really catch on to what they were saying."

"Something like exploring Rebellion City," Leaf responded. "And then Professor Birch said to go to that tall building when we're done looking around." She pointed her index finger at the same building that the professors had headed off to.

May sighed, flustered by everything that was unfolding right in front of her eyes. She was just a sophomore, for Arceus's sake. Why did they have to be forced to put up with something like this? (_Crap, that's another question, _she thought.)

Then, suddenly, she heard her stomach rumble quite loudly. May blushed as she said, "Well, we could go take a look around to see if there's any good restaurants or cafés here, because I'm starving."

"Well, there's no denying your appetite, May," sighed Misty.

"I'm with May on this one for the first time," Leaf agreed. "I don't think any of us got to eat breakfast this morning because we were so excited about the weekend and all. It seems like we're probably gonna spend our whole weekend in this 'Rebellion City' until this 'case' is solved, I guess. We might as well get familiar with this place while we're at it."

The other three girls silently agreed with Leaf's plan as they began to make their way into Rebellion City. To them, it seemed like any other typical metropolis that was always busy, night and day. Towers loomed above them as they made their way toward the heart of the city. For a place the girls had never heard of before, it seemed like quite the place. There were many residents walking to and fro on the crowded sidewalks as the girls explored the megacity. There didn't seem to be any cars on the roads, making the asphalt paths pretty much pointless, but May didn't give a care for that. The upscale environment reminded the brunette of Jubilife City and the dorm she lived in. A sudden desire to go back to that dorm quickly overcame her, but she figured that she wouldn't be returning back to those comforts for a while.

May also realized that she hadn't noticed any nature in the surroundings. No trees, no grass, no greenery. When they had still been back there, standing in front of the prison, the land around them was just dirt and rock. She had even seen some rare jewels and gems stuck in the earth that, remembering the Geography class she had taken in sixth grade, could only be found underground.

_Could it be? Could we possibly be…? No, that's impossible. _

May pushed away that possibility and focused back onto reality. She didn't realize until now that the girls had been walking and were now standing in front of a posh and high-end building that very much resembled the Lilycove Department Store back in Hoenn. The only differences were that it wasn't as tall and it wasn't as colorful. The exterior was a bland gray along with touches of black here and there.

But nonetheless, it was still a shopping mall. May was, more or less, ecstatic.

"Wow, they have a mall here!" May gushed, clasping her hands together in awe. "What are we waiting for, guys? Let's go in!"

May heard sighs coming from Misty and Leaf, but Dawn seemed to be more than pleased to be here. The lighter brunette didn't care about their reactions, though.

It was a shopping mall. It for sure had clothing boutiques, and more importantly, it most likely had restaurants that would satisfy her always-craving-for-food appetite.

* * *

"Oh my gosh!" squealed May, looking through a window. She was staring at a beautiful, strapless black dress that went down to the mannequin's knees. Iridescent pleated silk taffeta draped down with a sweetheart neckline near the top. To finish off the look, the dress was tied around the bodice with a silk black bow. "I just _have _to get that dress!"

Dawn approached the brunette and took a look at the garment she was marveling at. "You're right, May. That really is a beautiful dress."

"Ooh, maybe I could buy that dress and wear it at the next dance!" May thought aloud. "All the other girls would be _so _jealous!"

Suddenly, someone yanked the back of her orange tank top and pulled her away from the clothing display. May struggled to get out of this person's grasp, but the grip on her shirt was tight. It was almost impossible for her to escape. Finally, when she had been hauled to a corner of the mall, May looked up to see that the person who was dragging her was none other than Misty.

"Misty, what was that for?" whined May. "I was going to go buy that dress!"

"We aren't here to look at clothes, May!" the redhead reminded, placing her hands on her hips. "We came here to eat! What happened to that appetite of yours?!"

May's stomach grumbled yet again. Clutching it, the brunette admitted, "But I _am _hungry!"

"Then stop looking at dresses and let's eat!" Misty yelled, irritated.

May sighed as she got up and followed Misty to the food court of the mall. She noticed that Leaf had already reserved a table for her and her friends and she had also ordered food for everyone. Dawn was already digging into her cheeseburger when May took a seat across from her at the table. The lighter brunette took a look at the food platter lying in front of hers, and then took a look her friends'. She noted that hers contained significantly more food than everyone else's.

_Well, it seems like Leaf just knows me too well, _May thought as she began munching on a turkey club sandwich.

May had already finished eating her sandwich and started on another one. She was stopped in the middle of a bite when Leaf cleared her throat and said, "I wonder where we are."

"Rebellion City," Misty quickly replied. "The professors said so."

"Yeah, we all know that, but exactly _where _is Rebellion City? Which region is it in, and if it is in a region, is this a newly built place or something?" Leaf tapped her chin, a look of deep thought on her face.

"Good question," Dawn mumbled, a look of deep thought crossing her face as well. "You know, this is the first time I've ever heard of this place."

"Me too," May chimed in. "It's not a bad place, though. I could get used to it, I guess." She swallowed down another bite of food when, suddenly, a thought that had crossed her mind just before they had come into this mall crossed her mind once again. "Hey, didn't any of you guys notice anything strange about Rebellion City, though? There wasn't any grass or anything green when we were out there."

"I thought I was the only person who thought that this place is weird," mentioned Misty. "There weren't any rivers or lakes or any bodies of water for that matter."

"That's all true," Leaf agreed, "but don't you notice that there's no sky?" The brunette cocked her head up to the glass domed ceiling above them, and the three other girls followed Leaf's gaze. She was right. Where there were supposed to be blue skies and white, puffy clouds was a huge layer of rock.

"You're right," said May, still gaping at the "sky". "But… how is that possible? Are we, like, in a cave or something?"

"It's possible," pointed out Dawn. "But if we are in a cave, then how come there's light coming from above?"

_Well, looks like we have _a lot _more questions to ask the professors when we go to that building. _

"Hey, aren't we supposed to go to that tower once we're done looking around?" questioned Dawn like she was reading May's mind. "Everyone seems to be done eating, so why don't we go right now?"

"Actually, there's one person who's still got food on her plate," teased Misty as she gave May a playful glare. At this, said brunette stared down at the sandwiches on the table in front of her as she blushed, embarrassed by the fact that she was the reason why they couldn't go to the tower yet.

"Eh heh… Don't worry, guys. I'll be done in no time!"

* * *

"May, I knew that you've got such a huge appetite, but I didn't know that you could swallow five whole sandwiches in less than five minutes," commented Dawn as they strolled out of the shopping mall.

"No kidding," muttered Misty. "Besides Ash, who could actually do that?"

May just smiled and responded, "Me, obviously." This only caused Misty to roll her eyes, but she didn't bother to counter the brunette.

The girls finally arrived at the tower and made their way up the marble staircase and walked inside. Too bad the insides looked even more boring than the classy outsides. To May, it seemed like a typical workplace where many businessmen and businesswomen went to every day for their job. There were black leather seats on the perimeter of the lobby. The tile floor gleamed under the lights and there was a lady dressed in a suit in the front, manning the front desk (although all she seemed to be doing was smiling at everyone who walked by her and typing something up on her laptop). There was an elevator to her left that was made entirely of silver.

May walked up to the lady at the front desk with Leaf, Misty, and Dawn following right behind her. The lighter brunette cleared her throat, trying to catch the lady's attention, and said, "Excuse me, but do you know where I can find Professor Oak?"

The woman looked up from her laptop to see who it was as a smile graced her lips. "Samuel? He'll be on floor thirty, the very last floor." She inspected May and her friends more closely. "Are you girls the agents he hired for the case? You all seem pretty young to be dealing with something like this…"

May tilted her head, puzzled by this lady's words. "Agents? What agents?"

This seemed to catch the woman by surprise. "Oh, you girls haven't heard about the case yet? Then I suggest you all head up to the thirtieth floor and talk to the professors about it." She motioned towards the elevator.

"Okay, we're on it," stated May, still confused. She and her friends walked into the said elevator and May pushed a button inside that read "30". In no time, the elevator was slowly shooting up and heading to their destination.

As they stood in the elevator, waiting for the doors to open to the thirtieth floor, May was mulling over what the attendant had said. _"Are you girls the agents he hired for the case?" _Once again with the "case". Was this "case" important, and what was it all about? And what was that thing about Professor Oak hiring agents or something? Ugh… the more questions, the more perplexed this whole situation got.

The elevator doors finally slid open and lying in front of them seemed to be some sort of research lab. The girls stepped out and observed the new surroundings. There were some things that were the same as the lobby, like the tile floors and the glass walls. What was different, though, was that there was a huge table standing in the middle of the room with different machines that May couldn't recognize placed on the table. On the left, there were several researchers on PCs. To the right, there were three doors that all led somewhere, but May couldn't get a peek of what was inside from where she was standing.

A young lady with pale skin and taupe-colored hair that was tied loosely into something that resembled both a sort of bun and a ponytail emerged from the door that was in the middle. She was wearing a white lab coat, just like everybody else in the room besides the girls, her unusual cyan-colored eyes standing out from all of her features. Red earrings dangled from both of her earlobes. Besides the lab coat, the woman sported a plain white V-neck tank top, a mantis-colored miniskirt, and white shoes with red straps. When her eyes locked onto the four girls, she beamed and made her way toward them.

"Hey, are you girls May, Leaf, Misty, and Dawn?" she asked. "I'm Professor Juniper of the Unova region. Professor Oak and the others are waiting for you. Follow me!" She sauntered away from them and back into the same room she had exited from. Not knowing what to do, the girls decided to follow Professor Juniper, hoping that she'd lead them to the other four male professors.

The girls entered the room to find the other professors sitting around a table that looked like it was used for business conferences. Professor Juniper took a seat next to Professor Rowan at the table and gestured for the girls to sit in the four remaining empty chairs. The girls obediently did just that and awaited further instructions.

"So, you girls like Rebellion City?" asked Professor Oak after everyone was settled in. "I hope you're all enjoying your stay here."

"Yeah, I really like it!" gushed May. "The shops and the food are amazing!"

Professor Birch chuckled and said, "Well, age doesn't change some things." Quickly, a serious expression made its way onto said professor's face. "But we aren't here to talk about vacations and having fun. There's a serious matter on hand that must be dealt with immediately. First, though, we need to give you girls some background information."

"Rebellion City is an ancient underground city, right under the heart of Saffron City, which has been around since ancient times, but as you can tell, it's been recently renovated," began Professor Juniper.

"Wait, so we're underneath Kanto right now?" May inquired. "That must be why there doesn't seem to be any nature and why the sky isn't visible. But if we can't see the sky, though, how is the city able to get light?" The brunette exchanged knowing glances with her three friends, and vice versa.

"We have lights implanted on the rock roof," the female professor explained. "They make it so it seems like the lights are natural, but since I'm not exactly a technology expert, I don't really know how to explain that. The electricity we receive is from the Power Plant to the northeast of Saffron City. We've got underground cables running from the Power Plant to Rebellion City, and there's an electricity generator on the second floor of this building.

"Anyways, back to the main point. The city was built in case there was something crime related going on in the land above because of something that happened about 1,000 years ago. What happened, you ask? Well, there was something like a war against woman. Many of them were kidnapped and put into exile, and all this was executed by an evil organization. Eventually, a group of girls came into the scene and put an end to all this. After that incident, Rebellion City was created. That's the short version of the story, at least."

May was almost at a loss for words. This story that Professor Juniper just said… It was exactly like the one she had read just a while ago at the library! Exile, women, an evil organization… Somehow, it all fit together. But how? Does it somehow have to do with this "case"? May decided to keep this to herself for the time being, for she didn't want to arouse any suspicions or speculations of any sort.

"Now that Juniper has explained everything you girls need to know, let's cut to the chase," Professor Rowan started. "Just this morning, there was a very tragic event that happened in Viridian City. And by tragic, I mean that it involves death of some sort. This morning, at exactly 5:06 AM, the winner of the most recent Silver Conference, Lyra Kotone, was murdered. You girls have already seen this broadcasted on Jubilife TV, have you not?"

At Professor Rowan's words, May heard sobbing come from somewhere. May turned her head to the right, and three seats over, Dawn was beginning to shed a few tears. Leaf was sitting to the blunette's left, and Leaf was trying her best to comfort her friend. May heard the darker brunette attempt to soothe Dawn with words like "It's okay" and "Calm down, you'll be fine." Dawn's weeping eventually settled down, but a saddened look still remained on her pale complexion.

"I… I can't b-believe that Lyra d-died…" Dawn stuttered. "We… we only got to hang out for a few days, but she was still such a good friend…" May noticed a tear trickle down the blunette's cheek, and May couldn't help but feel her heart crumbling to pieces at the sight.

"Dawn, did you know her?" May inquired quietly.

Slowly, Dawn nodded in response. "Ash, Brock, and I met her during our journey in Sinnoh during the Johto Festival there, and we all became friends pretty quickly." She then shook her head. "Man, do Silver and Khoury know all about this? They'd probably be in an even worse condition than I am right now."

"Dawn, do you need some time alone?" Misty offered, a glimmer of sympathy shining in her emerald orbs.

The blunette shook her head. "I'm good. Thanks for the offer, though." She wiped away a tear that was on her cheek and said, "Continue on, Professor."

"Actually," May chimed in, "I saw something about a girl dying in Viridian City this morning on Jubilife TV's huge screen on the top of their headquarters. I didn't pay much attention to it, though."

Professor Rowan nodded in acknowledgement. "At least one of you have heard of it. Anyways, whoever murdered Lyra is unknown and there was no one who witnessed her death besides the perpetrator himself. Silver, her boyfriend, was only several yards away from the scene of the crime and when he ran back to her, she was found lying on the ground, dead. From his observations, all we know is that she was shot by some sort of gun in the chest. Despite all that, we are completely clueless. We have no idea what kind of person would have killed Lyra, and what his or her motives are."

"We Rebels–that is the name for the residents and citizens of Rebellion City–have feared the day another case regarding women will come up," Professor Elm picked up. He then got four manila files out from under the table. "That's why we hired you four to work on this case and got Professor Juniper to kidnap you four. We need you girls to find whoever the perpetrator is and find out why he or she committed the murder."

"Wait… Professor Juniper kidnapped us?!" shrieked Misty, standing up from her seat. "You've got to be kidding! You guys can't just kidnap us and force us to live here temporarily, and now you're making us solve a stupid case?!"

"No, Misty," Professor Juniper refuted with a smile. "We aren't kidding. Now, will you girls rather solve the case and then be able to go back to Jubilife City, or do you want to stay in Rebellion City forever, hmm? It's your choice."

With a sigh, Misty backed down and sat in her seat again.

"Now, can you girls please open your folders?" requested Professor Oak.

May and her friends did what was told. There wasn't much inside the manila folder, but that was probably because the case had only recently appeared. All it contained was a picture of Lyra's dead body (which May absolutely refused to look at) and a two-page bibliography of the girl. It wasn't much to start with, and it definitely didn't provide any leads she would need to solve the case. But when she looked behind that bibliography, she saw something else…

It was a ferry ticket to New Bark Town in the Johto region.

"What's this for?" May asked as she held up the ticket. To her right, she noticed Misty observing an identical ticket.

"Ah, yes," sighed Professor Elm as he pushed his glasses up. "We forgot to tell you girls something. We're suspecting that the perpetrator's next move will either be somewhere in Kanto, or in the neighboring Johto region. It could be anywhere else, of course, but those two are the most likely places. Plus, this killer may not be a serial murderer at all, and instead killed Lyra for personal reasons, but we want to play safe. We want May and Misty to take a ferry to New Bark Town to investigate over in Johto."

"As for Leaf and Dawn," Professor Oak chimed in, "you two will team up with my grandson, Gary Oak, in Viridian City to inspect the crime scene. I know that Gary and Officer Jenny are both already there, but it would be nice for you girls to take another look."

"We get to investigate the scene with _Gary_?" Leaf and Dawn simultaneously said, Leaf in a disgruntled fashion, Dawn in a fangirl-like manner.

"I think you three will have a fairly good time with him," Professor Oak continued. "You both know him personally, so I'm pretty sure it'll be easy for the three of you to get along."

"_Get along_?!" hissed Leaf. "Professor Oak, I worked with you and Gary at your lab! Did you ever see us working efficiently together?! Gary is just an annoying pervert and playboy who is one of the rudest guys I've ever met! I don't even know why we're childhood friends!"

"Leaf, c'mon," begged Dawn. "Gary is, like, one of the cutest guys ever! Can't you just _please _come along, just for me? It'd mean so much, coming from my friend."

Said brunette rolled her eyes and sighed. After a long moment of contemplation and thought, she finally said, "Fine… But just this once, Dawn."

"Yay, thank you _so _much, Leaf!" Dawn squealed as she unexpectedly embraced Leaf tightly, a look of displeasure plastered on the brunette's face.

"Well, now that that's settled," began Professor Birch, "I think it's time for you girls to leave. Agent Green and Berlitz, you two will be leaving by means of bicycles. And just as Professor Elm said, Agent Maple and Waterflower will be leaving by means of ferry. Understood?"

The girls stood there, blank expressions on their faces. To tell the truth, they didn't completely understand what Professor Birch had just said. That was most likely because he had called them all "agents" and referred to them by their last names, instead of using their first names like he had done just earlier.

Professor Birch couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Girls, looks like you guys haven't realized that you are all now agents, so it's only natural that I call you by your last names." Well, at least that helped to explain the sudden formalities and helped the girls feel a bit less tense.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an elevator shaft appeared on the back wall. It was made up of some sort of metal, but it was definitely not the same as the silver one that May had used to get to the thirtieth floor. It looked shinier and definitely stronger. But what was strange to May was that the elevator seemed to shoot up and have no end.

"This here is a high tech elevator that will shoot up all the way to Saffron City," Professor Oak explained. "Once you four reach the city, there will be four bikes waiting for you there. Your first stop will be at the port in Vermilion City and once you girls have reached the location, Agents Maple and Waterflower will leave their bikes there and they will board the ferry. Agents Green and Berlitz will then ride all the way down to Viridian City from there and meet up with Gary. Are there any complaints?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Dawn, a bit angry. "Can't we get something fancier than bikes, since we're agents or whatever? And why can't we get agent clothing or something that'll make us look like actual agents?"

"Good point, Dawn," agreed Professor Juniper. "But we simply cannot fulfill these requests. We must keep the secret of Rebellion City as much of a secret as possible. If we make you ladies look professional, it'll raise suspicions, and we absolutely cannot risk that. I don't want to think of what could happen if the secret of the city falls into the wrong hands… The safest way to do it would be to make you all look normal. That way, the secret of the Rebels will remain, well, a secret." She then directed her attention towards Leaf and Dawn. "By the way, you two girls can trust Gary with the secret. He has visited the city many times and he knows all about it."

"And you actually trust him with the secret?" muttered Leaf, but Professor Juniper either didn't hear her or she was ignoring that statement.

"I've got a complaint," May piped up. "I mean, why us? We're just four sophomores. We don't have any experience with anything like this and we've got school to deal with already. You guys could've just hired some experienced detectives, the Pokémon Champions or something."

At this suggestion, all five professors gave each other apprehensive looks. An awkward moment of silence passed. Professor Oak and Professor Juniper began to tense and clench their fists. The female professor let out an unsteady breath, closed her eyes, and opened them again after a few more uneasy seconds.

Finally, Professor Rowan admitted, "You're right, May. We could've hired someone like Looker in Sinnoh or someone in the International Police, but this case is…" He hesitated for a moment, probably thinking for the right word. "…special. And you four girls are the only ones capable of solving this case."

This only further confused May, though. Professor Rowan definitely didn't answer her question, and he seemed to want to avoid giving her a truthful answer. This didn't stop May, though. She was still determined to figure out why, and there was no stopping her. She was pretty sure that Leaf, Misty, and Dawn felt the same way as well. But for now, she didn't want to push the professors any further. They already seemed to be cornered from May's previous question, anyways.

"_Now _that everything's settled, I think it's time to leave, don't you think?" said Professor Elm. "I hope you girls have fun."

_Fun?! _May thought. _Who'd have _fun _in something like _this_?!_

Nonetheless, May knew that there was nothing she could do to get out of this situation. These professors had already cornered her and forced her to do something that she absolutely didn't want to do. All she wanted to do was flee back to her dorm back in Jubilife and sleep in her bed. All day. But she had no choice.

Reluctantly, May got up from her seat and took a careful step into the elevator.

* * *

_Saturday, 8:30 AM; Vermilion City, Kanto_

Just as the girls had been told, two pairs of bikes had been waiting for them when they reached the surface of the bustling Saffron City. They quickly picked which bikes they would use and began riding south towards Vermilion City. In about thirty minutes, they had already reached their destination.

Vermilion City was quite the place. The majority of the land was bordered by the beautiful blue waters with various Water-type Pokémon swimming in them. The salty but refreshing sea breeze gently brushed back Leaf's hair, lightly tickling her exposed skin, as she parked her bike near the entrance to Vermilion Harbor next to the bikes of her other three friends. The port city was a bit more busy than usual, but that was mainly because it was the weekend. They had passed by a construction site that was almost finished, but what it was supposed to be was a mystery to Leaf.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now," Leaf said as May and Misty handed their ferry tickets to a man. "We'll see you later, once you guys are done in Johto and all."

"Yeah," replied May with a nod. "Have fun with Gary, Leaf. I bet he'll be really pleased to see you there."

At this annoying comment, Leaf grunted and rolled her eyes. Throughout the entire trip from Saffron to Vermilion, said brunette's friends had been teasing her about Gary Oak. The speculation that she actually had _feelings _for the flirt was mentioned several times, just because the two worked as Professor Oak's lab assistants and they were childhood friends. Ugh… she knew that her friends meant a lot to her, but sometimes, they were just simply irritating. "Whatever," was Leaf's reply. The three other girls just giggled, though.

"Yeah, but anyways, I'll miss you two," said Dawn. "See you guys later?"

"Yep," Misty stated. "We'll try to take the least amount of time possible at Johto. Hopefully, we'll see each other in a few days or so." Misty shuffled in place for a moment before saying, "Since we're unsure of when we will see each other again… hugs?"

That was that. The four girls got into one huge group hug and they stayed like that for a while. When Leaf felt like she needed some space, she let go of the embrace and everybody else followed cue. They said some final goodbyes to each other, but nobody shed any tears. It wasn't the last time they were going to see each other, and they knew that.

It wasn't long before May and Misty had boarded the ferry. Only a short period of time after that, the ferry that the two were on was sailing off into the distance.

Leaf and Dawn stood there, watching the ferry for some time. Leaf was going to miss those two for the time being, and she was sure that Dawn felt the same way.

When Leaf focused back onto reality, she averted her gaze from the ferry to Dawn and said, "We should probably head to Viridian City now."

Dawn's reply was just a simple nod. Then, a smirk was spreading across her face. "You seem excited to see Gary."

"Ugh!" groaned Leaf, stomping her foot on the ground in a frustrated manner. "Can't you stop it with the whole Gary thing? I do _not _like him!"

"Sure you don't," the blunette remarked sarcastically, sticking her tongue out.

Leaf ignored this and got onto her bike. Dawn did the same with her bicycle, and in no time, the two began to make their way to Viridian City.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, Rebellion City. I had no idea what to name the place so I came up with something pretty crappy. :P**

**The dress that May was looking at in the mall is based off a picture of a dress I found online. I know that the dress seems like an incredibly miniscule detail in the story, but that's not the only time the dress will appear, though (although it won't appear again until the very last chapter :P). **

**The reason why everyone thinks that there was only one killer is because, as this chapter said, there were no witnesses of the actual murder so nobody knows that there were actually four people who murdered Lyra, which you guys all know from the prologue. ;)**

**So I figured that Dawn would be the type to fangirl over Gary. I mean, she did fangirl over him in every episode those two were seen together, right?**

**Anyways, the plot development is gonna slow down starting next chapter so I can **_**finally **_**make some space for shippy moments. Wait… did I just say that? Oops, spoiler alert. ;)**

**Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed this story! It means so much to me! :D It would mean even more to me if you review this chapter. ;)**


	4. Chapter 3: Arrivals

**Chapter 3: Arrivals**

* * *

_Saturday, 9:31 AM; Rebellion City_

Professor Juniper had decided that there wasn't much she could do at the moment to help with the case–the girls had already left the building and headed to their assigned destinations, the Rebels had a serious lack of information regarding the killer's motives, and because of this lack of information, Professor Juniper couldn't do any research regarding who this killer could possibly be yet. That basically left her with little to nothing to do.

She figured that she might as well make herself useful in something else other than the case, so she started an undergoing project that had been in mind for a long time concerning her studies about the origins of Pokémon. It was a simple project, to be honest. All she was doing was analyzing and studying a Fossil that she had found while scavenging in Sinnoh's Underground not too long ago. Yes, she could've easily just analyzed the specimen in Fennel's lab back in Unova, but for some reason, the female professor was attached to the equipment that belonged to Rebel Tower. Maybe because it was more high tech than her own, and it didn't require Musharna's Dream Smoke to power the machine up.

Professor Juniper placed the Fossil in the machine, making sure everything else was ready all at the same time. When she took a quick look over to make sure that everything was fine, she activated the machine with the push of a button.

She sighed, the sight of the machine working its magic making her feel good inside (which it always did, no matter how many times she had seen it happen). Her eyes then wandered over to a small screen on the machine that indicated the progress of the Fossil's scanning and how long it would take before the analysis was finished. She narrowed her eyes when she took a good look at the time remaining.

Five hours and fifty-six minutes, the professor read. She sighed again, this time with ennui and tedium replacing the previous joy and excitement. It was true that she loved what she did for a living and interacting with Pokémon each and every day, but patience was definitely not one of her key virtues. This time, though, she had nothing to do but wait and subconsciously be trapped by the wrath of boredom.

She leaned back in the chair she was sitting on, her hands casually behind her head. For some reason, she thought back to the horrible times two years ago when Team Plasma was still a threat to the safety of Unova. Those days were especially frightening, even for her, although she wasn't too shaken by the event. But she figured that it most likely would have been even more frightening for Touko, who just so happened to be the Hero of Truth. It was destiny for her to take Reshiram as her partner and fight the Hero of Ideals, who just so happened to be N, Team Plasma's own boss.

It wasn't an easy battle for her, and Professor Juniper knew that, in spite of not being present during said battle. At the end, Touko was the clear victor, and through this victory, she was able to bring a change of heart to N. But N's disappearance immediately following the battle caused the poor girl to become downtrodden, and she declared that she wouldn't waste a minute trying to find him.

Professor Juniper had always sensed something even more than a new friendship in Touko's determination to search for N, and when he was finally found, the professor's suspicions were confirmed. It had taken Touko about a year to finally find N (who happened to be back at his castle where the battle had taken place), and by the time, it seemed like the small flame that had begun to spark had already turned into an indistinguishable wildfire. It wasn't long before the two started dating.

Professor Juniper's thoughts were abruptly cut short when the door to her left swung open. Her gaze focused on the intruder, only to find that it was Professor Oak who had barged in.

"May I come in?" the old man asked. "Hopefully, I'm not bothering you or anything."

"No, it's fine, Samuel," she assured. "Please, come in!" Professor Juniper gestured toward another chair in the room, and he gladly took a seat on said chair. "So what brings you here, hmm?"

"I wanted to ask you something," he responded. He sighed, and then continued on. "While the five of us were telling the girls about Rebellion City and the case, May asked us why it was them four who were sent here instead of someone else." He locked eyes with Professor Juniper; she could sense a slight feeling of uneasiness etched in them.

"Okay, so what about that?" she wondered.

"What I'm trying to imply is that we will have to tell May and her friends about why it was them sooner or later. I have a feeling that she and the others thought that our explanation of what was going on was insufficient, and I wholeheartedly agree."

"Oh, you mean about how they're the De–" At that, the female professor quickly clamped her mouth shut with her hands, and her cyan-colored orbs widened. "Uh… I, uh… I think you know what I'm talking about."

"I certainly do," Professor Oak said, nodding. "We will have to tell the girls about that soon." He stood up, most likely about to leave. "But for a while, it is best that we shall all keep it a secret from them. Right now, I… I think it'll be a bit too much for them. They're still trying to get over the shock of everything they had just recently experienced, anyway."

"Agreed." Professor Juniper gave Professor Oak a sweet smile as she went back to work. She heard the echoing of his footsteps as he walked out of the room.

_Now, I only need to wait five hours and fifty-one more minutes, _she thought as she glanced warily at the machine's small screen.

She huffed in exasperation. This was definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

_Saturday, 10:28 AM; S.S. Anne_

May sighed as she rested her elbows on the ship's railing, allowing her to have a nice view of the surrounding ocean. Low tides occasionally lapped against the hull of the ferry. A faint sea breeze caused May to quickly raise her hand to her green bandanna, making sure that the article of clothing didn't get carried away, despite how tightly wrapped it already was around the brunette's head. The ship itself wasn't overly crowded, but it wasn't completely isolated either. The sun in the distance had already risen by now, and the heat it provided made her skin feel warm.

May raised the manila folder up until it met her eyes. She still had no idea why she had agreed to do this in the first place, considering that she had no experience in the field of criminology. She was only a sophomore at high school, for Arceus's sake! And she was expected to solve a murder case?

The brunette let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. For a moment, she wished that she was back in the old days when she was still a ten-year-old, traveling with Ash, Brock, and Max. Those were definitely one of her favorite days. It was true that the best day of her life was when she had won the Johto Grand Festival and had been crowned as a Top Coordinator, but the actual process of journeying, entering Contests, and winning Ribbons had been, nonetheless, a thrill for her. At the same time, May also remembered the day she saw Drew winning the Sinnoh Grand Festival. That had definitely been a sight to see.

Back then, May had decided to travel all the way to Lake Valor in Sinnoh from Petalburg City to watch Drew, Solidad, and Harley compete. Although she wasn't entirely surprised, she was very proud of Drew and Solidad for making it all the way into the final round. She was even more proud when she actually had the chance to see the battle itself. Both of them executed a stunning performance, but at the end, it was Drew who came out as the victor. This came as a surprise to most of the spectators, but not for May. She knew how hard Drew had been training for this win, and despite his arrogance and cockiness, May completely believed in his abilities.

As May thought about Drew, she realized how long it had been since she had seen that grasshead. She remembered seeing his image in many Pokémon magazines, but she had never seen him in person ever since the Sinnoh Grand Festival. She always wondered if something was wrong, but May assumed that the busy life of a Top Coordinator took up most of his everyday schedule.

May sighed, but the sound of her sigh was barely audible as the ferry's horn went off and a harsh blare sliced through the air. It wasn't too high pitched that the brunette had to cover her ears, though. The loud blast died down soon enough, but the booming voice of the captain reverberated throughout the ship, once again filling the quiet environment with noise.

"We will be landing in New Bark Town in five minutes. I repeat: we will be landing in New Bark Town in five minutes. Thank you for boarding the S.S. Anne and have a great day."

After that announcement, May figured that it would be best if she'd head toward the exit so she and Misty wouldn't have to struggle through the crowds when the ferry would actually dock at New Bark Town.

_Wait… _May thought. _Where is Misty?_

* * *

"May, where the hell are you?!" Misty yelled to no one in particular, although she hoped that May could hear her. Misty observed the deck, but she couldn't find a familiar green bandanna in sight. "Damn it, May!" The furious redhead stomped to the other side of the deck, but she still couldn't find her friend. This only frustrated her even further. She noticed a couple people look at her with strange looks, but at the moment, Misty didn't care what other people thought of her.

She had been looking for May for some time already, but she was beginning to feel irritated when the captain had made his announcement. Yet deep inside, she did feel a bit worried about that brunette.

Misty was subconsciously making her way towards the ship's exit, and it was there that she realized that May was only standing a few yards in front of her. The redhead's spirits were lifted at the sight and a smile made its way onto her lips as she ran as fast as she could toward her, and at the same time, calling out, "May! There you are!"

As she made a dash toward May, Misty accidentally slammed into someone who was in the way. She fell hard onto the floor, but the fall wasn't too painful. Her emerald-colored eyes locked onto whomever she had run into.

The pale-skinned girl seemed to be in her teenage years, maybe a couple years older than Misty, and her wide-rimmed glasses around her chocolate-brown eyes gave her a sort of nerdy look. She sported a casual green t-shirt with fading denim jeans. A royal purple cape billowed behind her back, and to top it off, a matching royal purple witch hat perched jauntily on her wavy chestnut-colored hair. Her black, leather shoes tapped uneasily on the floor, and her nervousness was even more evident in the way she bit her bottom lip.

It took a few seconds before she found the courage to say, "I… I'm sorry. I truly am. Are you okay?"

Misty didn't care that this girl was being shy or trying to be kind. She scrunched her nose with disdain. "Yeah, I guess so. But you'd better watch where you're going next time."

"I was… I was just standing where I was, and then you ran into me," the brunette pointed out with a sigh. "You should've been the one watching where you were going." Suddenly, a look of concern was immediately plastered on her face. "But that's not point. Please, take this." She held out a small, wooden box and handed it to Misty. Not knowing what else to do, Misty came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to take this box. The girl seemed harmless and innocent, after all.

"Um… thanks," said Misty, furrowing her brows in confusion.

Misty was about to open the box to peek into its contents. But then, she heard the girl exclaim, "No, don't open it yet!" Misty cocked her head to the side, confused. Then, the girl continued, "If you open it right now, you won't find anything inside. You will only see what's inside when you open it at the direst of moments."

"What do you mean by the direst of moments?" asked Misty. But in a flash, the girl was already gone.

Misty just sat there, staring incredulously at the box in her hands. What was she going to do with this? Yes, she knew that she would open it at the direst of moments (whatever that meant), but in the meantime, what should she do with it? It was pretty pointless, anyway.

The redhead was caught off guard when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Her head snapped up, and a smile graced her lips at the sight of her friend.

* * *

_Saturday, 10:33 AM; New Bark Town, Johto_

"Misty!" shrieked May as she bounded toward Misty. "I've been looking for you!"

"So have I…" Misty grumbled back. "But whatever. At least I actually found you."

Suddenly, the ship's horn went off again, signaling that they had finally arrived in New Bark Town. Not too long after that, the captain made yet another announcement that was pretty much pointless for the two girls.

"We have finally arrived in New Bark Town. Thank you for sailing with us and we hope you all have a great day."

"We should probably get going now," suggested Misty as she stood up. May's only response was a nod.

The girls filed out of the ferry, weaving their way through the crowd until they were sure that they were a good distance away. As the two of them continued to make their way deeper into town, they observed their surroundings. New Bark Town seemed fairly small and quiet, yet peaceful and tranquil all at the same time. The dirt roads snaked their way all around town, and sometimes they would lead away from the main road and, instead, show the path to a local's house. The ankle-length grass swayed gently along with flowers that dotted the grassy areas. Pine trees guarded the perimeters of the town. May could spot Professor Elm's lab from where she was. Using her peripheral vision, May spotted a raven-haired teen, his disheveled black locks hidden under a baseball cap. Another green-haired teenager was right next to him, his hands stuffed casually into his pockets. He took one of his hands out to flick a strand of hair that was in his face, and then his hand went back to his side. The two boys were strolling through town, making their way toward–

Wait… why did those two men seem familiar to May?

Then, feeling incredibly stupid, the puzzle pieces all began to fit together.

"Drew? Ash?" May called out. "Is it really you?"

Both guys abruptly stopped in their tracks at the sound of what May thought were their names. They both eyed May for a while, but in no time, they beamed at the sight of both May and Misty. Excited, they made their way toward the girls, Ash sprinting while Drew was simply ambling.

"Oh my gosh! It's Misty!" exclaimed Ash as Drew approached the three. "I never expected to see you here! …Oh, and you too, May." A goofy grin crept onto his lips.

"Hey Ashy!" greeted Misty. "Definitely didn't expect to see you either."

"What a surprise to see you here, May," Drew cut in before Ash could say anything else. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has," May agreed. "I guess life's just been really busy, huh? Now that we're both Top Coordinators and all."

"Yep," he said with a nod. A smirk then made its way onto his face. "But I actually have time to do some Coordinating since _you're _in _school_."

"Hey!" protested May, anger beginning to bubble inside. She narrowed her eyes at Drew. "I actually get an education while _you're _busy trying to get the paparazzi's attention!"

"Yes, May, that's how sexy everyone thinks I am. The paparazzi don't want to see _you_; they want to see _me_."

"I have some publicity, too!"

"How big of a fan club do you have?"

"I…" May knew she was defeated. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she actually did have a fan club somewhere in the world, and if she did, May was almost certain that Drew's was much bigger. He already had a whole bunch of fangirls since he was only _ten_, anyway. "I don't know…" she finally conceded. "But who cares if you have so many fans! All that matters is that you're a good Coordinator!"

"So you think I'm a good Coordinator?" Drew teased playfully. "Well, I guess that it's a good time right now to say that I think you're a good Coordinator, too."

Suddenly, May felt a weird, fuzzy feeling inside, one she had never felt before, when she heard Drew's compliment. She couldn't identify what this strange sensation was, and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. And all at the same time, she felt her face becoming warmer. She wanted to think that it was the sunlight, but she knew that that wasn't the reason why. Quickly, May tried to shake off this awkward feeling as she said, "Really? I never thought that you thought I was _that _good. I have to admit, though. You _are _a pretty good Coordinator yourself."

"I knew that, May," Drew pointed out. "Do I really have to be reminded of such an obvious fact?"

"Ugh! You… you cocky, narcissistic, arrogant, annoying, stupid grasshead!" May crossed her arms and stuck out her lips in a pouty manner. Drew's smirk only grew wider.

"Okay, you two," Ash began, "can you guys _please_ stop arguing? I already had enough of your fighting six years ago. Can't you guys ever get along?"

"Ash, you are such a hypocrite," Misty quipped. "Don't you remember that all _we _ever did was argue as well?"

"Yeah, but… but that's different!" Ash countered. "We were always arguing 'cause you kept complaining about your bike! May and Drew argue because... because…" He looked from May to Drew, and then back to Misty. "Actually, I don't know why they argue so much…"

"We argue because we hate each other!" May shouted angrily. Drew only snickered at the brunette's remark.

"Guys, please, can we all just stop?" Ash sighed, exasperated by the constant bickering. "I bet Jimmy and Marina are waiting for us at the house. We're already late, anyways." Then, he locked his gaze with Misty. "Hey, Mist, wanna come to the house with me and Drew? We can bring May along, of course."

"Well, we don't have a better place to go to at the moment, so I don't see why not," Misty said. She turned her attention towards May and asked, "What do you think, May?"

May took a quick look at Drew and snorted. "I _really _don't want to be around _him_–"she shot the grass-haired boy a disgusted look"–but I guess I'll survive."

"Then that's settled!" Ash exclaimed. "C'mon, guys. I'll lead the way."

As May reluctantly followed Ash (who was engaged in a heated debate with Misty regarding whether or not she would eventually grow up to act like her older sisters), she occasionally glanced over at Drew. She noticed that he glanced over at her as well, but what was different from only moments ago was that there was a different look in his eyes. Not the usual egotistical playfulness. Not even the glimmer of kindness that May only found sparingly.

May wasn't the best at reading other people's expressions, but she was certain that Drew's expression was full of fear.

* * *

_Saturday, 10:40 AM; Route 2, Kanto_

Leaf and Dawn had been riding their bikes for about two hours straight, and Leaf's legs were aching. She seriously needed a break.

But aside from needing a break, she wanted to stop because she _really _didn't want to see Gary. Leaf knew that Dawn was totally in love with that pervert and she really wanted to see him, but at the moment, the brunette was putting her own wants before her own friend.

"Hey, Leaf?" Dawn piped up. "How much longer do we have until we get to Viridian City?"

"Not too long," answered Leaf. "Why?"

"Because I'm getting tired and sweaty."

"So am I."

Leaf noticed that Route 2 wasn't a really exciting place. Aside from the dirt path she and Dawn were riding on, the whole landscape was blanketed with grass. Elm trees stood to the girls' left and right. Pidgey, Caterpie, Rattata, and Weedle roamed in the tall grass. The road they were riding on was completely straight and quiet, and along the road, the only thing they saw was a plum-haired boy, probably a year or so older than Leaf and Dawn, who was staring at–

_Wait… we aren't alone here?_

"Um… Dawn," Leaf began.

"What is it?"

"You're about to–"

And then suddenly, Dawn only realized that she was about to run over that boy at the last second. She put on the breaks. But she was too late. The bike tried to skid to a halt, but before it came to a complete stop, Dawn had already made contact with him and toppled over.

"_Agh!_" she shrieked as she landed on the… ground? No…

She landed right on top of the boy.

The two of them stayed that way for about a minute or so, enough time for a fierce, crimson blush to appear on both of their faces. When the blunette finally realized what was going on, she immediately got up to her feet and yelled, "Paul, what were you doing there, standing on the middle of the road?!"

"I was about to catch a Pokémon, but then you fell on me," he muttered. "You should've been the one watching where you were going, Dawn." He crossed his arms in a defensive manner.

"Hey, Dawn, do you two know each other?" Leaf chimed in before they could start fighting. And fighting wasn't a good thing to be doing when they were working on a murder case.

"Yeah, this is Paul Shinji," she introduced in a harsh tone.

Leaf then turned her attention to Paul. "Hey Paul… nice to meet you." Leaf offered a hand to him, but he didn't accept it. The brunette became slightly frustrated by his negligence.

"Did I hear someone shouting?!"

The three of them swiveled their heads around until they were all face-to-face with a spiky auburn-haired male who was wearing a lab coat. He was running up to them frantically until he finally caught up. When he halted, his hands went for his knees and he began panting. "I heard… a girl… shouting…"

"Yeah, of course you did," Leaf growled. "_I _screamed because I didn't want to see you!" And with that, Leaf immediately slapped Gary Oak right on his left cheek. Luckily for her, she was able to witness Gary wincing in pain. "Hmph… you deserved that."

"Leaf, what did I ever do to you?" Gary whined as he gently rubbed his cheek.

"You were born!" she shrieked in response.

But Gary only chuckled as he ran a lazy hand through his hair. "So you're mad because I was born?" He placed his hands on top of his chest, and, in the most romantic voice he could muster, said, "You don't know how much that hurt me. I'm your best friend, right?"

"The most perverted best friend in history…" Leaf grumbled as she got on her bike. "Now are you gonna take us to the stupid crime scene or not?"

"Don't worry, Leafy," Gary soothed. "Of course I'll take you and Dawn over there." Leaf chanced a look behind and noticed Dawn fanning herself, her neck growing a faint red. The brunette sighed, wondering why almost every girl she knew was so enamored by this annoying flirt. "You don't need your bike, Leaf. Why don't I take your hand?"

"Never!" Leaf bellowed. "Why the hell would I do that?!"

"Because I'm making you do it," Gary stated simply. Catching Leaf off guard, Gary lifted an aggressive Leaf off of her bike _bridal style_, set her down, and entwined his fingers with hers. "Come on, everybody! Follow me!"

Leaf sighed as she subconsciously yet reluctantly intertwined her own fingers with his. Gary began to lead the way as Leaf followed right behind him.

As they walked, Leaf swore that she heard voices behind her. She took a quick glimpse, only to find that Dawn was trying to start a conversation with Paul. (_Wait… Paul's following us? _Leaf wondered.) He didn't seem so eager about chatting with her, but when he had to, he replied to whatever Dawn had just said. Leaf perked her ears up, just to hear a bit of what they were talking about. Then, she heard Dawn whisper to Paul, "Don't you think Leaf and Gary make a cute couple?"

And that was it. One of her best friends thought that she and this… this _playboy _were cute together. Next thing you know, everyone in Viridian City would think that as well.

Leaf smirked, mentally thinking of a good way to embarrass her blunette friend as well. She wouldn't do it now, of course. But when they were alone, just the two of them.

_Well, Dawn, I think you and Paul make a cute couple yourselves._

* * *

_Saturday, 11:03 AM; Lacunosa Town, Unova_

Anthea and Concordia had to get away. Fast.

"Anthea!" a blonde-haired lady cried. "We're here!"

"Lacunosa Town?" a pink-haired woman asked. The blond nodded in reply. Knowing smiles appeared on both of their faces. They both simultaneously turned around. "I think we've lost them."

"Yeah," Concordia agreed. "But they could catch up to us any time soon. We'd better get in hiding. After all, we _are _at our destination."

As the two young women began to make their way into the town, Concordia thought with a look of grief evident on her face, _Oh… how I wish N was here with us at the moment._

* * *

**A/N: Hopefully, I balanced out the shippy moments enough, although I have a feeling there may be a bit more ORS. But seriously guys, I almost died typing up that part. :P But yeah, I told you there'd be some shippy moments.**

**Reviews are appreciated, as always!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Celebrities

**Chapter 4: The Celebrities**

* * *

_Saturday, 11:08 AM; Castelia City, Unova_

"They _what_?!"

The ginger-orange-haired male and female flinched at their boss's words. They knew what would happen next, and they were definitely not looking forward to it. They had seen it happen to some of their fellow teammates before. It had definitely not been a pretty sight.

The female sighed, the soft sound muffled by her gray mouth mask. She couldn't let her boss get the better of her and her partner. She chanced a glance over at him, but he was frozen in place with fear. His eyes widened, and his arms were trembling. Deep inside, she wanted to smack the back of his head like she usually would do during one of their missions because of his stupidity. But in front of her boss? That would be a risk–a risk she didn't want to take.

"Boss, we are very sorry for what happened," she apologized, trying to keep a cold, emotionless face. "It is completely our fault for this mistake." Before continuing, she made eye contact with him. "But, boss, please give us another chance. We will try to find them, and we promise that we will not fail you."

The boss eyed them warily for a moment. Then, he began pacing back and forth, probably thinking of what his subordinates' fates should be. The female hoped that she and her teammate would be spared. She fully believed in her boss's plan, even though his reasoning behind it still wasn't clear to anyone but himself. But she knew that whatever he was plotting, it would be something that would shape the future in a beneficial way. Something she wanted to take part in and be remembered for.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the boss finally made his decision. "…Fine. Just one more chance." He glared at the two young adults in front of him that caused them both to shudder with horror. "But you two better find them. And soon."

"Yes, boss," they agreed simultaneously. Right on cue, they shuffled awkwardly out of the room.

* * *

_Saturday, 11:16 AM; New Bark Town, Johto_

"So how have you been, Drew?" asked May giddily as she walked side by side with him. Ash and Misty were a couple feet ahead of them, deep in their own conversation.

Drew had been staring aimlessly at nothing in particular for the whole trek so far. May assumed that she had caught him off guard when she noticed a slightly startled look in his eyes, that just so happened to resemble the color of his chartreuse-colored hair. It was strange that his peculiar features were, surprisingly, natural (at least, she assumed they were). It looked like Drew's hair was dyed green and his jade eyes were merely just colored contacts.

But did it bother May? Nope. Not a bit. Truth be told, she always liked to closely notice every single thing about him, and that even included his appearance. He was sporting his usual long-sleeved black shirt with his purple cardigan over it and his cyan-colored pants. He wasn't going overboard with his clothing, and for some reason, she liked it that way–she was _not _fangirling over this cocky, annoying grasshead, however. At least, she didn't think so. Never in her life would she imagine herself being a crazed fan of his. She did accept the fact that Drew was an outstanding Coordinator, but he was still her rival. And that was all she ever planned on him being. Maybe her friend, but never anything more than that.

She shook her head. _Nah… _May thought. _Just a rival._

The brunette was staring obediently at Drew, waiting for an answer from him. In that small moment, though, she noticed the way the slight breeze made his green locks move in unison with each other. It reminded her of how a lot of commercials on television would have an actor's or actress's hair flow back behind them in a dramatic way that seemed anything but natural. This was how she pictured Drew at the moment, except, well, it seemed natural.

Just the thought of this comparison sent tingles down May's spine that reached all the way to her toes. She pondered this feeling for a moment. It was a feeling that Drew, and only Drew, gave her. It was a strange sensation that was almost impossible for her to describe. What it was, she didn't know. And she definitely didn't want to know.

"May!" Drew snapped, clicking his tongue in an annoyed fashion. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Uh… sorry," May apologized, embarrassed that her own thoughts had been consuming her. "What did you say?"

Drew sighed in exasperation, flicking his hair out of habit. "I said that I've been fine. What about you?"

"Oh!" exclaimed May, although the sound came out as more of a squeak than anything else. "I've been good…" She thought about it for a moment, wondering if it would be safe to point it out. She could already imagine Drew's disbelieving expression once the words escaped her lips, and then how everything would follow from there: a teasing remark from him, a challenging retort from her, and it would all just be wrapped up by another one of their playful quarrels. But other than that, how bad could it be? It wasn't like he was going to murder her or something… right?

"A bit worried about you, actually."

Drew eyed her precariously, yet there was a hint of smugness evident on his face as he tried to fight a smirk from making its way onto his lips. May's suspicions were confirmed, and she was preparing herself for what she had envisioned in her mind. She noted the movement of Drew's lips, which were slightly moving up and down like he wanted to say something, yet he seemed like he couldn't form the words.

At the moment when May was expecting something to come out of his mouth, a sudden wave of sadness and despair seemed to have washed over him. The brunette scrutinized his face and furrowed her eyebrows. Why was Drew acting so out of character all of a sudden? A similar look had been there when they had just begun making their way to the house. It wasn't a look that May liked to see; it sent a strange uneasiness through her, and she didn't like it one bit. She much rather preferred to see his usual egotistical self, no matter how much that side of him annoyed her like hell. She just wanted the Drew she knew to be… there.

It had felt like an eternity for May before Drew finally perked up, let that smirk creep its way onto his lips, and said the remark that she had been expecting. "You were _worried _about me?" He snorted bemusedly. "That's gotta be a first, May. I mean, seriously. _You_? _Worried _about me?" He let out a chuckle. May anticipated that it was her turn to talk, but her words were nothing to Drew as that one chuckle led him to chortle loudly. It wasn't long until he was in pure hysterics and his laughter became uncontrollable.

That was it for May. She couldn't believe that he thought this was funny!

Yet somewhere deep inside, she was glad that he had returned to his usual snobby self was back.

"Drew, cut it out!" she snapped, despite the contentedness she felt. Fury began to boil inside of the brunette, and her hands clenched into fists, her palms beginning to feel sweaty. But Drew didn't obey her command. His guffawing was dying down by then, and this made May feel a bit more collected. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but still be annoyed at him.

"Why would you be worried about me?" Drew inquired once he had calmed down, a smile still etched on his face.

"Because you never called me," she muttered as she stomped past him, quickly catching up to Misty and Ash and disrupting their conversation. She forced a smile on her face as she approached her startled friends.

* * *

"Because I never called you, huh," Drew said to himself, amused by her last words before she had tromped away from him. He chuckled again, this time for no particular reason.

His gaze drifted from the ground to the brunette's figure, noting how upbeat and giddy she seemed despite her previous frustration towards him. He realized that it wouldn't be long until all that happiness within her would quickly disappear. He definitely wasn't looking forward to that day, but it wasn't a choice.

Why had he picked her? All he did was endanger her life, and he didn't want that. Most of all, why did it have to be _him_? Couldn't they have chosen someone else for the job?

He sighed and flicked his hair, not wanting to ponder over this.

One thing was for sure: life was definitely not fair for him.

* * *

"Look, we're here!" Ash exclaimed, pointing toward something in front of him.

The short walking trip from the dock to this house, which happened to be at the other end of New Bark Town, was longer than May and Misty had expected, but it wasn't long enough that they were panting and gasping for air. The scenery had been quite the sight to see as they trekked up the low mountain: wild Pokémon that were scurrying here and there, tall trees which were dotting the pathway, and, most of all, observing the unfamiliar sights of town.

"Damn," Misty murmured in awe. "That is _such _a cool house!"

And May wholeheartedly agreed. It was a rectangular-sized contemporary house, its walls completely made up of glass (_Why do I keep seeing glass everywhere I go? _May thought sarcastically). May was able to make out two levels with posh furniture and glossy marble flooring.

"Drew, whose house is this?" May asked, just as awestruck as Misty was. "Is it, like, some famous celebrity's place or something?"

"You'll see," he responded as he ambled up to the front of the house and opened the front door. Ash and an eager Misty walked inside, and May followed from behind.

But right as she was about to take her first step into the luxurious home, she tripped and fell. Right in front of Drew. She cursed to herself and got back on her feet, brushing her shorts in case any dirt had gotten onto it. She was about to apologize to him, but she stopped herself when she realized something: Drew was the cause of her fall; he was slightly sticking his foot out. Not too much for anyone to notice, but just enough to get someone to make a fool out of herself. She sighed shakily, and said, "Drew, you jackass."

"Whatever," he quipped playfully as he strolled in by himself, leaving a flustered May outside. She gritted her teeth and reopened the door herself.

May silently vowed to get revenge on that stupid grasshead.

* * *

"Marina, they're back!" Jimmy called as he stood up from his seat in the television room.

"Already?" inquired the blunette as she made her way out of the kitchen and to the front of the house. Yes, he was right. Drew and Ash were back… and with two other girls?

The first one who had caught Marina's attention was a fiery redhead with a ponytail on her side. Sporting a red tank top with a light yellow button-up turtleneck vest, a pair of short shorts of a matching shade of yellow, and tangerine orange sneakers, her emerald orbs stood out from the rest of her features. Standing in the back was a brunette, a grumpy expression on her face, with a green bandanna wrapped around her forehead, a few brown locks poking out. On top of that, she also had on an orange tank top with a black collar, a green bag strapped around her waist that matched the color of Drew's hair, and black shorts. Her hands were covered by a pair of black and white gloves, and to top off the outfit, she wore white and orange sneakers that contrasted well with the rest of her clothing.

Marina couldn't believe that it took her this long to realize who these two people were. She eyed them, looking them up and down one last time, before realization came to her.

"Oh my gosh!" she squealed. "It's May Maple and Misty Waterflower!"

* * *

May's frustration quickly dissipated when she heard her name being spoken. She looked up to see a blunette with gravity-defying hair that very much resembled her own hairstyle, although there was a periwinkle-colored cap atop her blue locks. May's face lit up as she recognized the ever so famous strawberry red top and white silk cardigan she had seen in so many editions of _Coordinator Weekly _and on so many ads for various companies.

There was no denying that it was her.

"Marina Brooks?!" gasped May with shock. Her gaze went from Marina, to Ash, and finally to Drew. "Guys, you didn't tell me that it was _the _Marina!"

Misty cocked her head to the side and eyed May, raising one eyebrow in confusion. "You know her?"

"Yeah!" replied May, nodding her head furiously. "I'm so surprised you don't, Misty. Marina's one of the most famous Pokémon Idols ever, and she's also a Top Coordinator. I wish Dawn was here. She'd be so happy…"

"And I know both of you!" Marina exclaimed. She pointed at May. "You're May Maple, a Top Coordinator!" She then pointed at the redhead. "And you're Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean City Gym Leader! It's such an honor to meet you both." She motioned over to the television room where Jimmy was still standing, a bit perplexed by what was going on. "And, of course, that's my boyfriend, Jimmy Kenta, the Pokémon Champion of Johto."

"Nice to meetcha," the teenager with the black and yellow cap said. "We weren't expecting more guests, but you're welcome to stay. Make yourselves at home and take a seat."

May, Drew, Misty, and Ash didn't hesitate to sit down on the leather sofas. May noted that it was chilly, but that didn't matter; it was very comfortable. In that same moment, May also observed the interior of the house.

Natural light poured in through the glass walls and provided a good source of heat, warming May's exposed skin. A huge flat screen television sat in the front of the room. To her right was a narrow hallway that led to other rooms, and the stairway to the second level was nearby. To her left was the entrance to the house and a view of the path they had taken to get here. The marble floors gleamed in the sunlight, and May could even see her own reflection on it.

Marina skipped into the crowded room and plopped herself on Jimmy's lap, entwining her fingers with his at the same time. "So what're you guys doing in New Bark Town?"

May's stomach lurched, and a sick feeling was slowly enveloping her. She looked over at Misty for help, but she seemed as clueless as for what to say as well. No matter how nice Marina seemed, May knew that she wasn't allowed to tell anyone about the case, Rebellion City, or anything related. As quickly as she could, the brunette brainstormed a lie that would be believable to not only Marina, but to Ash, Drew, and Jimmy as well. Ash wasn't too much of a problem, since he was one of the most oblivious people on the planet. But Drew and Jimmy? May didn't know Jimmy that well, but he definitely seemed more attentive to small details than Ash did. And then Drew… He would definitely catch on to a lie if it sounded made up in the slightest.

Fortunately for May, Misty was quicker to think. "School's on break, so we decided to take a quick vacation. Right, May?" The redhead directed her attention towards the brunette. The look in Misty's emerald eyes was telling May that she should probably give an answer, so she forced a smile and nodded her head. Ash and Jimmy seemed convinced by this, and that was a relief for May. Her gaze drifted to Drew, who was eyeing both May and Misty dubiously.

_He saw through it, _thought May as she mentally punched herself, a small frown creeping its way onto her face. But she had to pretend that she hadn't noticed that. She didn't want that idiot of a grasshead to further suspect anything else.

"Where do you guys go to school?" Jimmy asked, catching May off guard.

"Jubilife High," she answered immediately. "It's a great school, I guess. The stuff we learn is definitely a lot to take in. And there's just so many quizzes and tests and homework that I don't even get enough sleep some nights. But I like all my teachers and friends. Trust me; once you get used to it, it won't be so hard on you."

An awkward moment of silence passed by. No one stirred or moved in any sort of way, except for Marina, who laid her head on Jimmy's shoulder in a romantic manner that caused May's heart to melt with cuteness. The blunette was close to drifting to sleep when suddenly she blinked, her eyes wide like they were about to bulge out, and she blurted, "By the way, do you know where you're staying for the night? If you don't, then you're welcome to stay with us here."

May and Misty exchanged another glance; it seemed like they had been glancing at each other for at least a million times so far today. But Marina did bring up a good point: where were they going to stay? Booking a hotel room would cost money, and May wasn't sure if she had enough of it even if she combined her savings with Misty's. Their only friends currently residing in New Bark Town were Drew and Ash, and if they chose to stay with them, they'd technically be staying with Marina and Jimmy as well. So what choice did they have?

"Sounds good to me," replied May.

"Me too," Misty agreed.

Marina beamed and stood up. "Alrighty then!" She twirled in her spot before continuing. "There's only one more guest room left, so you two are gonna have to share. All there is in that room is a mattress, so I hope you guys are fine with that. I'll help you guys get settled in and then I'll make lunch!"

* * *

The room that Marina had provided was, just as she had said, occupied by a mattress and a mattress only. Nevertheless, it still seemed as fancy looking as the rest of the house.

May fell on the mattress. It would've felt better if there were actual sheets on it, but at least she and Misty had somewhere to stay for the night. If Marina hadn't decided to take them in… May didn't even want to go there.

But there was still something in the back of her head that was nagging at her: the case. They were finally at New Bark Town, just like the professors had asked, but what were they going to do now that they were here? This wasn't a vacation. They had a case to solve, but there was no evidence as to who the murderer's next target was, and that was only if the murderer was even planning to murder anyone else. There were no leads, and no leads equal nothing to do.

A lack of information. That was all it was.

As if Arceus was reading her mind, Misty came hastening into the room with her pink Pokégear clutched in her hand, a huge grin plastered on her face. "May, we've got an incoming call from Professor Oak!" she exclaimed. May got up from the mattress in an almost animated manner and rushed over to Misty. Sure enough, it really was Professor Oak.

Misty put the Pokégear on speaker mode so she and May could both hear his voice, but made sure to keep it at the lowest volume possible that was still audible to both girls so the other residents in the house couldn't hear what was going on. May had a hunch that Drew was already suspecting something, and she didn't want any of his suspicions to be confirmed.

"Misty? May? Are you girls there?" questioned Professor Oak.

"Yep," Misty responded. "May's right here with me."

May heard what sounded like a sigh from the other end. "Thank goodness. Anyway, we have just received confirmation that Leaf and Dawn have safely joined up with Gary and they are now on their way to the crime scene. It seems like everything is going smoothly so far."

"But Professor, now that we're here, what are we supposed to do?" asked May.

"Good question," he pointed out. "I suggest that you two just act normal and try to blend in with everyone, yet still be on the lookout for any activity that seems suspicious. I know it doesn't seem like much, since Leaf and Dawn are doing the dirty work at the moment, but that doesn't mean that you can just ignore me and slack off." May and Misty nodded at what he said. They couldn't see what the professor's expression was right now, but May was sure that he was beaming. "Good. Agent Maple and Agent Waterflower, I wish you both the best of luck." The phone hung up at the other end.

The girls were both speechless for a moment as they tried to comprehend everything that had just been told to them. Finally, May said, "I wonder how he got reception down there."

"Yeah," Misty sighed. "Guess there's still things about Rebellion City that we don't know yet."

May was on the verge of taking a nap at that moment until she remembered something. "Hey, Misty, can you help me with something?"

"What is it?" she inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"The boys' room is right across the hall, right?" May asked. Misty answered with a nod. May couldn't help but smirk. "I'm gonna get revenge on Drew, and I need your help."

* * *

**A/N: Am I evil for making it end right there? You probably think I am. :P Anyways, what do you think May's planning on doing to Drew? I know what, but I just want to know what you guys think. It won't be revealed until the chapter after the next one, though.**

**I gave you guys a lot of food for thought, huh? The whole scene in the beginning at Castelia City and then the really short snippet with Drew is probably messing with your minds right now. If it isn't, I'm not doing my job then. :P**

**By the way, it was confirmed in **_**A Stand-Up Sit-Down!**_** that Marina is into coordinating. It showed her performing in a Contest on Zoey's PC and Marian stated that Marina is a Top Coordinator. Just wanted to make that clear to you guys. ;)**

**I'd like to give credit to Apheleia for the idea behind the **_**Coordinator Weekly **_**thing from her fic **_**Finding Distant Skies**_**. I really suggest reading it, because it's one of the best stories I've ever seen on FFn. Of course, knowing that you all are Contestshippers (if you aren't, I have no idea why you've been reading this fic), you've already checked it out. But I just want to make sure. ;D**

**Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'd love to know what you thought of this and any criticism/feedback would be so incredibly helpful! :D**


	6. Chapter 5: Betting On A Kiss

**Chapter 5: Betting On A Kiss**

* * *

_Saturday, 11:08 AM; Viridian City, Kanto_

For Leaf, being forced to handle a murder case and solve it with her three friends from Jubilife High was already such a burden for her. But holding hands with her childhood friend, who happened to be the biggest flirt in history, only added to her frustration.

She tried to ignore the brunet's hand in hers. Leaf focused on observing her surroundings, pondering the possibilities of why Professor Oak and the others back at Rebellion City had forced her to go through this, looking behind her to catch a glimpse of Dawn and Paul having a friendly conversation together, but to no avail. Nothing seemed to work, and no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts would always drift back to her fingers that were reluctantly entwined with his.

It was another one of those moments where she couldn't help but take note of all the strange sensations coursing through her and the somehow comforting feel of his hand in hers. Gary's touch warmed her skin and sent shivers down her spine. She wanted to say that she absolutely hated the position she was in right now… but she couldn't. She actually… enjoyed… holding his hand, and for some unknown reason, her brain was telling her to keep holding on and savor the feeling while she could. After all, it wasn't an everyday thing for your average girl to be holding hands with one of the hottest guys on the planet, even if they were childhood friends…

Leaf mentally slapped herself. She couldn't believe that she was thinking of _him_, Gary Oak, in such a way. She shouldn't be liking the feel of his soft, assuring fingers intertwined with hers instead of… liking it. She shouldn't be admitting that he was hot. The brunette shuddered at the thought.

Gary guided Leaf, Dawn, and Paul through the twists and turns of Viridian City, leading everyone to where the crime scene had occurred. The streets were eerily silent to Leaf's ears and it sent a sense of discomfort through her, causing the brunette's heartbeat to race and speed up. She assumed that the people living in the city had evacuated due to the news of the murder spreading rapidly, so she knew that this shouldn't cause her to feel so uncomfortable. That would be the best way to ensure the safety of the city's citizens, after all. It still felt so incredibly off, though.

Leaf sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. _I think I'm getting delusional, _she thought.

After a short trek around the city, the group of teenagers finally arrived at the crime scene. Leaf roughly slid her hand away from Gary's grip, to which he complained by letting out a childish whimper, but the brunette ignored him, focusing on the task in hand instead. Her gaze drifted to the bloody corpse of the girl named Lyra, which was lying on the ground with a redheaded boy cradling her head in his arms. Leaf's eyes trailed from the top of her head to her chest where the bullet had plunged through her flesh and the cardiac tissue that made up her heart, stopping the girl's blood circulation and thus ending her life. As Leaf observed the body, she couldn't help but cringe and try to look away from the gruesome sight. But for some reason, it felt like it was impossible for her to tear her gaze away from her.

"Damn it…" Gary muttered under his breath. Shaking his head, he scolded the crimson-eyed boy, "Dude, why are you still here? I told you that everyone's gotta go!" He glared icily at the redhead, but it was ignored. He continued to gaze longingly at the taupe-haired girl, the look in his crimson orbs reflecting mournfulness. It seemed like nothing else mattered to him at the moment except the young female in his arms.

Gary continued to tap his foot impatiently as he crossed his arms. "I'm waiting, you know."

This seemed to grab the boy's attention. He finally looked up from Lyra Kotone's limp corpse he had been staring at for what felt like an eternity and eyed the brunet menacingly, grimacing. "Why don't you shut up, get out, and stop bothering me."

"Relax, man," Gary urged casually. "I know you love her and all, but we really need to collect evi–" He immediately shut his mouth before any more words could spill out, realizing that he couldn't let the secret about the case slip in front of both Paul and the redhead.

Leaf rolled her eyes at him as she sighed and shook her head; she felt a strong desire to slap Gary yet _again_, but she knew that it wasn't the right time to do so at the moment. "What he means is that you gotta leave because we need to take a look around, okay… um, what's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?" he growled, loosening his grip on Lyra. "It shouldn't matter to you at all."

"Because I'm asking you to tell me," the brunette demanded, adding in a stern glare in his direction for further effect.

He gently set down Lyra's head, stood up from where he had been kneeling, and shoved his hands in his pockets in a way that very much resembled the way Paul would always do. There was silence for a few seconds before he finally answered. "Silver."

"Silver, huh…" Leaf mused. It was an unusual name, in her opinion, and it wasn't a very common name either. _I mean, why would a parent name their kid "Silver"? _She decided to push the thought away so she could focus on what really mattered. "Anyways, Silver, can you and Paul here go to the Pokémon Center and, like, hang out there or something?" As Leaf said this, she gestured toward the plum-haired boy standing by Dawn. "We've got a job to do, and we need you two to at least not be in this area for a while."

Silver shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess…" He glanced one last time at Lyra as a wave of crestfallenness suddenly appeared on his face, but that only remained for a brief moment. Leaf was quick to catch on to this, and she couldn't help but feel her heart slightly crack. In no time, he was making his way to the Pokémon Center with Paul right behind him.

But before said boy followed the redhead, he turned around and studied the blunette for a long moment, a second too long, perhaps. His face seemed expressionless, but Leaf detected a hint of some emotion in his cold black eyes… but what emotion it was, the brunette couldn't tell. Obviously, there was something there, although it wasn't too evident. After his gaze no longer rested on Dawn, he ambled in the same direction Silver had went as he waved his hand. Leaf smirked, coming to the conclusion that he hadn't waved to them all, but only to–

"Dawn," Leaf murmured to herself, finishing her own thoughts out loud.

The blunette was startled as she heard her friend say her name. Her surprise quickly shifted to confusion as she eyed Leaf warily. The perplexity was obvious in her cobalt-colored eyes as she slightly tilted her head to the side. "What's up, Leaf?" she asked.

Leaf stifled her laughter, but a smile was able to make its way onto her lips. "It's nothing."

Dawn continued to seem confused, but she shrugged it off anyways. She scrunched her nose before saying, "…Okay then."

"Right… Okay, so now that we're the only ones here, I'll show you guys how to take evidence. Sounds good?" The brunet gestured toward the corpse a few feet away from them. Leaf and Dawn gave him a nod before they made their way over.

"Hey Gary," whispered Leaf, making sure that the blunette next to her wouldn't hear. He turned his head around to face her, a smirk etched on his face. Leaf rolled her eyes before continuing. "Don't you think those two make a cute couple?"

Gary raised an eyebrow. "Who? Paul and Silver?"

"What?! Hell no!" hissed Leaf, stomping on the brunet's foot, causing him to yelp in pain. "I mean Dawn and Paul, you idiot!"

"Oh," sighed Gary as realization hit him. He thought for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face. "Surprisingly, I can see those two together. They'd make a pretty cute couple, I guess."

A smile was tugging at the corners of Leaf's lips. An actual smile. An actual _genuine _smile. _Maybe he's not as bad as I thought… _

"Hey Leaf, I was wondering if I could hold your hand again," Gary teased playfully, catching the brunette off guard.

She scowled at him and swatted his arm away as he tried to reach for her hand for the second time that day. "In your dreams, Oak."

He ran a hand through his spiky auburn hair and sighed exaggeratedly in mock disappointment, but it was obvious that there was a small smirk trying to make its way onto his lips. "You stubborn, stubborn girl."

Leaf blew up at a strand of hair that was hanging down loosely in front of her face. _Never mind then. He really is as bad as I thought he was._

* * *

Paul sighed as he looked up into the sky, not focusing on anything in particular. One death, one broken heart. Despite the way he always seemed so bitter and cynical toward everyone he knew, there was a small part of him that actually felt sympathetic toward Silver. After all, Lyra seemed to have been of great importance to him, and losing her would give him a cause to be mad. That would definitely explain his sour attitude toward Dawn, Gary, and Leaf.

His thoughts suddenly drifted to Dawn. He wondered why he had chosen her in the first place. It was really a spur of the moment thing, since she was the girl he was closest with, even though he wasn't really close with anybody… except Reggie, perhaps. But he wasn't a girl. Plus, he was his brother. Of course he'd have some significance in his life, even if he still held a grudge against his older sibling. So Dawn was his only choice. Still, he couldn't help but feel like there was some other reason why he had picked her…

He pushed the thought away, only to start pondering over another matter that had to do with her. Dawn Berlitz. Why did she matter so much to him? Soon, the day would come when she would hate him. Hate him like _hell_. And only because of that stupid decision that he was forced to make. Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be her?

_Why am I thinking so much? _Paul thought. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he continued to amble along with Silver in the lead.

_You'd better do your job right if you wanna keep her safe, _a part of his mind reminded him.

* * *

"All you gotta do is take the tweezers and use it to pull that baby out," Gary instructed to Leaf as he pulled out said tweezers from his brown duffle bag. "No big deal. It'll only take a minute."

"Leaf, are you sure of this?" Dawn flinched; Leaf assumed that the thought of the brunette using the tweezers to pull out the bullet was haunting her. Truth be told, Leaf was a bit nervous of doing it herself, but Dawn was probably even more terrified. After all, the blunette did know Lyra personally, and she probably didn't want to see any physical damage done to her.

"Don't worry, Dawn," Leaf reassured. "I use tweezers all the time for my eyebrows. How hard could this be?" She gave her friend an assuring smile, and this seemed to help Dawn to relax and her body to unstiffen.

Leaf then focused her attention back on the task at hand. She took the tweezers from Gary and pulled on a pair of disposable gloves before pushing away the tissue until the bullet was found. It was definitely an awful sight, Leaf noted, as she felt around for her heart. When she had successfully done so, she began to search around for the bullet, using the tweezers until she heard the sound of contact with metal. The brunette grasped it with the tweezers and gently pulled it out, making sure to keep the tissues intact. The .22 bullet was covered with dry blood, but besides that, it was in good condition for analysis.

Gary took the tweezers from Leaf and dropped the bullet into a plastic bag. He sealed it and placed it in his duffle bag, making sure that it was safe and secure. After doing so, he turned back to Leaf and Dawn and said, "I'll keep it for now, and I'll give it to you guys later so you can analyze it when you get back to Rebellion City."

"Why don't you just give it to us now?" Leaf insisted, sticking her hand out so Gary could hand the plastic bag to her and narrowing her eyes at him. "I don't trust you with it, and it'll be much better if I keep it."

"Aw… Leafy, can't you trust me?" he whimpered, pouting like a little kid. "I'm a very trustworthy person, you know. If you just let me hold on to it and I'll give it to you later on, then I'll give you something every girl in the world wants."

"And what exactly is that?" Leaf put all her weight on one side and placed the palms of her hands on her hips as she awaited an answer from the brunet.

"A kiss from me," Gary answered nonchalantly. "One with direct contact with your lips. What do you think?"

That was it; fury was enveloping her and she was more than ready to lash out at him and let all hell loose. "Gary Oak, who the hell would want a kiss from someone like _you_?! No way would I ever let you kiss me!" She crossed her arms and turned her back to him.

Gary chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair, and not soon after, he smirked that annoying, ugly, _stupid _smirk. "You wanna bet on that, Green?"

"You bet I will," Leaf agreed smugly, holding out her hand so she and Gary could shake on it.

He accepted it, an equally smug expression on his face. "If I ever kiss you by the end of this month, which I know I will, you owe me five hundred Pokémon Dollars. If I _don't _kiss you by the end of the month, I owe _you _five hundred Pokémon Dollars. And the kiss has to make direct contact with your lips."

"It's a bet, then," declared Leaf. "Just watch. There's no way you'll ever kiss me."

"Oh, we'll see about that." Gary straightened his lab coat before taking out his Pokégear and noting the time. "Hey, it's almost noon. You guys wanna head to the Pokémon Center to grab something to eat?"

"Nah, I'm good," Dawn and Leaf responded simultaneously, although the brunette's voice came out as a mutter. The two girls turned to each other for a brief moment and smiled at the irony before turning back to Gary.

"Okay then…" Gary sighed. "I'll be heading to the Pokémon Center then. Follow me."

"And why should we?" Leaf demanded.

"Because I still gotta kiss you," he reminded teasingly, winking back at her. "Plus, I have all the evidence we collected, you know. It'll be a shame if I keep it all for myself."

Leaf rolled her eyes and huffed. _Guess we have no choice then_, she thought.

Reluctantly, the brunette was walking alongside Gary with Dawn at her other side, all three of them making their way to the Pokémon Center, where they knew Paul and Silver would be.

* * *

It wasn't long until the trio reached the Pokémon Center and found the two antisocial boys lounging on leather chairs in the perimeter of the bottom floor of the building, their arms crossed in a similar fashion. The air seemed tense around those two, as neither of them bothered to strike a conversation (then again, what else would you expect from those two?), but the mood seemed to lighten when Gary, Leaf, and Dawn approached the two. Both Paul and Silver looked up and stared at the three pairs of eyes staring back at them with blank expressions on their faces.

No one said anything for an awkward moment until Dawn decided to speak up. "So… what's up, guys?" she asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Her body tensed for a moment, unsure of what she would receive as an answer.

To her surprise, the response wasn't anything truculent or heartless sounding. For some reason, it even perked the blunette's spirits up to some extent as well, even if a reply like this was common for the plum-haired boy. "Nothing that you'd actually be interested in," Paul replied. His gaze locked onto Dawn's sapphire-colored orbs. She could even make out a hint of a smile etched on his face if she looked incredibly closely. But it was such a ghostly one that it looked like it wasn't even there; she knew that Paul actually _smiling _could only be a dream. "You?" he asked, snapping Dawn out of her trance.

"Oh! Um…" Surprised, Dawn fidgeted with her thumbs and occasionally fingered the button on her pink Pokétch, stepping side to side insecurely, trying to think of a way to respond. "Uh, well… Just… taking a look around the city. It's really pretty, you know." She let out a forced smile for him in the hopes that it looked convincing enough. Paul didn't seem to give a care about it, though.

"Hey Leaf, let's get something to eat, shall we?" Gary whispered to the brunette flirtatiously. It seemed like only seconds before that the two were standing a few feet apart from each other. But at the moment, their lips were only a mere few centimeters away from each other's. Gary kept inching closer and closer, and it was only a matter of time before his lips were in contact with Leaf's. Her cheeks were growing a strong shade of red and she seemed like she was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle. Her hand moved up, reached for Gary's cheek, and tucked a lock of auburn hair behind his ear, but only to fall back to its original place. Leaf closed her eyes, getting prepared for the touch of his lips on hers. A smirk appeared on the brunet's face before he reached down, bit his bottom lip, and prepared himself for what was to come.

But Dawn was smarter than that. It wouldn't come, of course.

Leaf's eyelids shot up and her brows suddenly furrowed. She shoved him away before he could have kissed her and clenched her hands into fists. "I have to admit, Gary. You were that close to winning the bet. But there's no way you're ever gonna kiss me," she hissed at him. She stomped off somewhere (Dawn didn't know exactly where) with her cheeks blushing like crazy.

Gary sighed and said, "Damn it. I was so close." One of his usual smirks tugged at his lips for the umpteenth time that day. "I know she wants me. She just can't admit that she's so in love with me." And with that, he followed Leaf to wherever she had gone.

Dawn and Paul were frozen there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Silver seemed unfazed by what had just happened, but that was probably because he was still trying to accept what had happened to Lyra.

"I believe they're heading upstairs," Paul muttered to no one in particular, rolling his eyes. "Those two are crazy."

Dawn ignored what he had said before turning to him and saying, "Hey, you wanna get something to eat? I think I'm getting kind of hungry."

Paul shrugged nonchalantly before replying, "Yeah, whatever." He got up from his seat and headed to the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, not bothering to pay any mind to the blunette whatsoever. Before Dawn followed him, she asked Silver if he wanted to join them, but he blatantly stated that he would rather not. So Dawn, flustered, went in the same direction as Paul had.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Dawn picked up a plate and filled it with the delicacies the cafeteria offered. She wasn't very hungry at the moment, so she went with a light lunch of a cheeseburger with a side of fries. She took a seat across from Paul, who seemed to have settled for a serving of chicken salad. The two ate in silence for a while, neither of them bothering to say a word and instead picking at their food and occasionally taking a bite of it.

After swallowing another fry, Dawn piped up, "So Leaf and Gary… Don't they make such a cute couple?" The blunette clasped her hands together and sighed dreamily, thoughts of the possible pairing floating around in her mind. "I mean, just look at the way those two act around each other! And they were even about to kiss!"

Paul rolled his eyes at her. "I really don't care. I think love is just a sappy cliché and I don't plan on being part of it."

Dawn's smile quickly turned into a frown at his sour reply. "But don't you think they're just so cute? They are totally meant to be! You _should _care about things like these."

"Are you implying that I should be in love?" He eyed her warily and raised a wry eyebrow at her.

At this comment, Dawn felt her neck growing a tad bit warmer and her palms were starting to feel sweaty. She couldn't help but feel her heart pounding more loudly than usual and she bit down on her bottom lip nervously. Why was she feeling this way? She had never felt this sensation before, and she wasn't sure if she liked it, hated it, or didn't mind it at all. Heck, she couldn't even put a name to this emotion coursing through her. But whatever it was, she determined that only Paul could make her feel so… weird. After all, he was the first and only person so far to put her in such a position.

She was too absorbed in trying to handle what she was feeling that she didn't hear the words Paul had said. The blunette was caught off guard when she heard him repeat those words again, except more gruffly and forcefully. "Dawn, you're spacing out."

Sapphire orbs met onyx orbs as Dawn sucked in a sharp breath before saying, "Yeah, I know." She sighed. She would have to abandon the thought for a while. Deep inside, it was driving her insane, and she decided that it would be best if she stopped thinking about it.

Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Hey, do you know where Leaf and Gary are?"

"They're in the Pokémon Center, obviously," Paul deadpanned. "That was a really pointless question."

She wholeheartedly agreed with him, but Dawn still couldn't help but feel hurt. But why would she feel this way? It was normal of Paul to say things like this.

_I'm overthinking things way too much_, the blunette thought.

"Of course they are," she countered. "But, I mean, like, _where _in the Pokémon Center are they?"

"How should I know?" he quipped. "I'm not a stalker."

* * *

Leaf stormed through the corridors of the second floor of the Pokémon Center. All she wanted to do was get away from Gary. Get away from what she had almost done. Get away from reality.

She turned a corner and continued stomping away. She could hear the muffled footsteps of someone from behind her, and she had her suspicions as for who that person was. Who else would he be, after all?

She continued down that hallway, only to be met by a dead end. The brunette was about to turn around and take the same route she had previously taken to get to the second floor to get back to the ground floor, but she was suddenly pushed against the wall and she felt the body heat of someone who was too familiar to her. The exact someone she had believed was following her.

Gary propped his elbow against the wall and leaned in until his forehead was in contact with hers. He let out a sigh, and the smell of his breath filled Leaf's lungs. Unlike most guys, whose breaths usually smelled horrible, his was the complete opposite. Mixed with the fragrance of his cologne, the scents coming from him were so dreamy and heavenly. Leaf let her eyes flutter shut so she could take in the newfound smells of the brunet. Ah, how she wanted to be in this moment forever…

His body inched closer to hers as he wrapped an arm around her back. He ran his fingers down her turquoise-colored tank top and continued down to the bottom of her spine until he felt for her skirt, which he put his hands into the back pocket of. He set his chin on her shoulder and his lips softly sucked at the side of her neck. Leaf let out a soft moan as he worked his way up.

Leaf's heartbeat was racing. She had absolutely no idea what was happening, yet she did. She knew Gary was pushing her against the wall and sucking at her neck. She wanted so badly to say that she wanted him to do this, to not stop doing this, in fact, but there was no way she would ever admit that she wanted Gary Oak to shower her with all his love, if he really did love her. But maybe she would just let this slide. Just this once, she'd let him do this. After all, she was quite enjoying it. The way he sucked at her skin, the way his hands were in her back pocket, the way all the scents coming from him contented her to no end, the way he swiftly made his way up to reach her–

Immediately, just as she realized what he was trying to do, she slapped him. This time, she really meant it.

"Leafy, why are you hitting me so much today?" Gary pouted, sticking his lips out and rubbing the slapped cheek, which was the same cheek that had been slapped earlier that morning. "I was so close to kissing you and winning the bet! Didn't you like that?"

"…No," she lied, feigning hatred and annoyance. "I _hated _it! I hated it _so _much!" Her blush grew into ten shades of red and her heart was pounding wildly like never before.

"Really?" he asked disbelievingly. "Then why did you let me do it?"

"Did I have a choice?!" she snapped, shooting him a cross look.

"Yeah," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "You could've hit me a lot earlier, you know." Suddenly, he smirked. Oh, how it annoyed her like hell. "I guess you just wanted to savor it, didn't you?" he questioned tauntingly.

"Ugh!" Leaf groaned as she stumbled away, making sure to keep her distance from that excuse of a Pokémon researcher. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to shout, "And I'm only gonna stick around with you for the evidence!" before making her way through the hallways once again. She swore she could've heard Gary laughing as she got farther and farther away from him.

She turned at the first corner she saw and slumped against the wall, letting her shoulders sag. She still couldn't comprehend what had just happened, and she definitely didn't want to. Leaf couldn't believe that she had just let Gary use her like that.

As she thought over the highlight of her visit to Viridian City that had only happened seconds ago, her hand traced her lips as she wondered what it would have felt like if Gary really had kissed her and won the bet.

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, looks like someone's in love with Gary. ;) Was that too over-the-top? I've been dying to write that scene with Leaf and Gary at the end, but I hope that it wasn't too sexual or whatever. Lol, I watch reruns of the Twilight Saga too much. :P**

**Do you feel like this had more shippy moments than the last chapter did? I do. So just like I did here, I'll be upping the level of Contestshipping and Pokéshipping in the next chapter so it'll be more even. **

**So yeah, review! I'd love to know your thoughts, criticism, etc. :)**


	7. Chapter 6: Safe And Sound

**Chapter 6: Safe And Sound**

* * *

_Saturday, 12:31 PM; New Bark Town, Johto_

Drew slouched in his seat and flicked a lock of green hair out of his eyes, only for it to fall back down to where it had initially been. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his cyan-colored pants and fingered his PokéNav for no reason in particular other than the fact that he was feeling bored ever since May and Misty left to settle down in their rooms. Maybe it wasn't boredom that he felt. It could possibly just be the need to continue teasing that brunette even further, just to get on her last nerve. He always found it cute how she would get so pissed off at him when a single teasing word would come out of his mouth. He assumed that it was just his way of expressing his feelings for her (not that he actually had any _romantic _feelings for her, but feelings for her in a friendly manner).

He chuckled to himself. He always found it so strange yet interesting that he still had the same habits he had had six years ago. And they never faded away after all this time.

His emerald orbs darted to the left side of the room, where Marina was placing a bowl of Pokémon Food on the floor. Pikachu immediately jumped off of Ash, who was sitting on a red beanbag chair, and began to devour the contents of the bowl. Jimmy was outside at the moment, taking a stroll through New Bark Town so he could stretch his legs out and breathe in some fresh, outdoor air.

He sighed as he rested his arms behind his head. He knew that the moment when he would have to explain everything to May was coming soon, and that was what he didn't like. Drew wished that he could've expressed his feelings for May (again, these were _not _romantic feelings) in a more normal way. It was his fault for agreeing to some stupid deal just so he and May could get together (and _not _romantically get together, but just as friends).

Focusing his mind back onto reality, he took note that Marina had just served lunch for Ash. It wasn't anything gourmet or extravagant, but it wasn't like the raven-haired teen gave a care. As long as the food was tasty, he'd eat it. The lunch only consisted of sandwiches that were filled with ham, cheese, and a variety of vegetables. Drew's mouth was ready to dig in to some of the ham sandwiches, but his stomach didn't agree.

Almost like she was reading his thoughts, Marina approached Drew with a plate of the same sandwiches in her hands. That gorgeous smile of hers was plastered on her face, but unlike most guys his age, it didn't cause his heart to race or his body to tense due to nervousness. Sure, he had to admit that Marina was a beautiful girl, but she just wasn't his type. "Drew, do you want your lunch now?"

He shook his head and waved a hand at her. "Nah, I'm good. Why don't you and Jimmy share those once he gets here?" he teased, a smirk making its way onto his lips.

Marina rolled her eyes, but a small grin was still visible through her façade. "Shut up, you grasshead."

Drew snickered at her comment. "Hey, you know only May ever calls me that."

Everyone knew how much she and Jimmy loved each other, yet Drew found it strange that the blunette was still trying to hide it. It was almost like one of those high school crushes where someone would try to deny the fact that he or she is madly in love with someone, yet everyone teases that person about it. Marina and Jimmy's relationship was a clichéd one, just like that, but it was still one of the most adored and most wanted romantic relationships everyone in the world wanted.

"Should I care?" she asked playfully. "And what's up with May this and May that? All you ever talk about is May. Are you, like, in love with her or something?"

"What gave you that stupid idea?" Drew countered smugly, flicking his hair. But once again, it just fell back in place. "May's just my rival, and that's that."

Marina eyed him disbelievingly, but she didn't try to argue against that. Instead, she went to Ash for support.

"Hey, Ash, do you think Drew's in love with May?" she inquired, putting all of her weight on one side and turning her head around to make eye contact with Ash.

Ash was chewing on a bite of his sandwich as he set down his plate on his lap. He tilted his head to the side, thinking about the possibility of Drew having feelings for May. "Well… I think he could be. I mean, he's always giving May's Beautifly roses and–"

"He gives roses to May?!" squealed Marina. Beaming, she began jumping up and down excitedly. Drew facepalmed; he could already tell that he wouldn't be looking forward to whatever was going to happen next.

"No," Ash answered bluntly, picking up his sandwich plate again. "I said that he gives them to Beautifly."

"He gives them to her Beautifly, huh…" the blunette mused, crossing her arms over her chest as a smirk tugged at her lips. "I think that's just an excuse he made up so that he could express his love for May. He's _so _in love with her."

Ash thought for a moment before saying, "It sounds possible. I've always thought that he giving Beautifly roses was kind of weird, honestly."

Drew's face became warmer and grew to be the shade of crimson red roses. The same kind he gave to May. "Dude, you're not helping."

But his comment was ignored by both of the other people in the room as Marina clasped her hands and sighed. "Ah… I think it may be true love! No pun intended." She giggled to herself as Ash continued to eat and Drew rolled his eyes.

Ash nodded his head up and down furiously, a huge smile evident on his face. "Uh huh! I can totally see those two getting together!" He smiled childishly at the green-haired Coordinator.

"See, Drew? Even Ash agrees with me!" Marina twirled in her spot with grace and flawlessness, like she had actually had a special tutor who trained her to do just that. The thought humored Drew.

Just in a split second, he had thought of the perfect comeback to get Marina's attention off of the possibility of him being head over heels for May. It was perfect. Ingenious, even. Smirking, he said, "You know, Ash, don't you think that Misty's got the hots for you?"

Just as he had expected, that was enough for Marina to stop her rant about him and May and for Ash to be the one who was being embarrassed. He placed his plate on the coffee table in front of him with the blankest expression on his face. "What do you mean? Misty and I are just friends."

Oh, he was _so _oblivious about everything. Especially when it came to the subject of love.

His smirk still on his face, Drew continued, "Well, why else would she give you her special lure if it isn't because she's crazy in love with you? I know that you guys are friends, but if she only thought of you as a friend, then she'd probably keep her lure for herself, right? Think about it, Ash. It's the only reason why."

"Aw… looks like Drew isn't the only here who's burning with love!" Marina squealed with delight. "Ash, I totally agree with Drew! That's probably the only reason why she gave you her lure! You two are meant to be! And so is May and Drew!"

Drew threw his hands up in exasperation. "And I was hoping she'd stop talking about me… Now she's talking about the both of us!"

"I feel your pain, man," Ash muttered as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder again. "Marina, we're just friends, okay? Stop making a big deal out of it."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Fine." All of a sudden, as if everything that had just happened had never happened at all, her teal-colored eyes brightened and a soft smile graced her lips. "Oh, by the way," she piped up, "can you get May and Misty from their room, Drew? I bet they're starving, and since you don't want these sandwiches, I might as well give it to them."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed as he stood up from where he had been sitting. He made his way up the stairs and found the room Marina had allowed May and Misty to stay in for the night. He took a good look around, but all he saw were May and Misty's backpacks and a mattress in the middle of the room. Other than that, the guest room was completely deserted.

At first, he was confused as for why the two girls weren't in here. Where could they possibly be other than their own room?

_Maybe they're just exploring the house… _Drew thought. He had no other ideas, and he knew that Marina would snap at him if he didn't find May and Misty, so he decided to look all over the top floor of the house.

He couldn't find them in the bathroom. Or in Marina and Jimmy's room. He even paced the hallway on the second floor several times, even if he knew they weren't there. All he wanted was to find May and Misty so Marina wouldn't let all hell loose on him. He checked every room once. Twice. Three times, even. But he couldn't find them.

Then, the thought finally struck him: he still hadn't checked for them in the other guest room.

Maybe he hadn't went there because he had no idea what May or Misty would be doing in the guest room he shared with Ash. There was no reason that immediately came to Drew's mind, and he didn't think that the girls being in his room was a plausible idea at all. But he could be totally wrong, of course. Plus, how could it possibly hurt to look in his room?

He walked out of May and Misty's guest bedroom for what seemed like the millionth time that day and noticed that the door to the other guest room was closed, but not completely. Drew found this weird, since he remembered that he had left the door open this morning before he and Ash had left to take a walk around town. He was beginning to be suspicious about this. Who would've closed the door, anyways? No one had been upstairs recently… except May and Misty. Could they have been the ones to close the door?

Drew decided to ignore the part of his mind that was nagging at him to not open the door, and so he opened it anyways. He placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door, noticing that he was right: May and Misty weren't in there. But where else could they have been?

Suddenly, his world felt like it had crashed down on him and he was being ambushed by a whole mob of people. Except that he wasn't actually being ambushed by people, and the world wasn't really crashing down on him. Instead, freezing cold water fell from what he assumed was the ceiling and it completely soaked him from top to bottom. About a second later, a yellow pail landed on the ground near his feet with a loud _thump _that reverberated throughout the room. It was only after that when everything had become completely silent, except for the occasional dripping of water from his chartreuse-colored hair.

He stood there for a moment, his breath caught in his throat and his shivering becoming even more uncontrollable by the second. His hair and his clothing clung onto him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. Water droplets ran down his face and fell onto the ground. Drew knew that he should have started to clean up this mess and himself as well, but he was too stunned and speechless to move a muscle. He couldn't believe that he had just fallen for this prank. It was a classic, really; he had seen so many movies where someone would pull a prank by setting a pail that was filled to the brim with water on top of a door and someone else would open the door and be completely drenched by the liquid, falling for the prank.

It was already obvious to him that May and Misty were the ones who had pulled this prank. They were the only ones who had been upstairs recently, after all. And why they did this, Drew didn't know, but he concluded that this was some sort of revenge on him for something he did. Something he probably did to May…

_Oh yeah, I tripped her this morning, _he remembered, letting a smirk make its way onto his lips as he tried to suppress his laughter. He had no idea why he found the whole situation hilarious, but he assumed that it was because he found it interesting how May had been able to set this up and make him fall for such an obvious trick. He was feeling pretty stupid at the moment, but Drew had to admit that May was smarter and more of a trickster than he thought she was.

Oh, there was no way in hell that she would easily get away with this. This was war, and Drew was going to do everything in his power to claim victory.

He was about to start making his way to the bathroom to clean up when he felt the PokéNav in his pocket buzz. He took it out and flipped it open as he leaned against the nearest wall to read the latest text he had received.

He almost had a heart attack when he finished reading the message.

Drew couldn't believe it. Was it already time? He would've expected it to happen in a couple days from now, but he never thought that it would happen that soon.

_Just as I thought. _

He'd have to put his war with May aside for now. At the moment, there were even more serious matters to be dealt with. All the happiness out of May would be gone, all because of his decision. Luckily, this would probably only be temporary, but it pained him to see her look so hurt. Especially since it would be because of him she'd be hurt, even if she wouldn't know it. The day when her happiness–everyone's happiness, in fact–would disappear forever was getting much closer than he thought…

The others had to be informed about this immediately. No doubt about that.

* * *

It was almost impossible for May to hold back her laughter, and it seemed like Misty felt the same way as well. The brunette never knew that Drew was that stupid to fall for such a classic prank, and she expected him to notice it before he could have been completely doused by the water.

But even if that was what she was expecting, she had been hoping for the complete opposite of that. And that was exactly what happened. Oh, how she craved moments like these.

"May, I'll say one thing," Misty said in the middle of a fit of laughter. "That had to be the _best _thing I have ever done in my life. It was, like, pure genius!" She held up her hand and May gladly gave her redheaded friend a high five.

"Yeah, I know, right!" exclaimed May in pure hysterics as well. "He _so _fell for that! It was totally epic!"

The girls continued roaring with laughter for some time, savoring the moment while they could. Under their current circumstances, it was hard to find any time for either of them to enjoy themselves like this with the whole thing about the case on their minds all the time. They knew that the case was currently a more serious matter than pulling a prank on Drew, but everyone needed time to relax and have some fun once in a while, right?

When their laughing had died down and neither May nor Misty had to clutch onto their stomachs to keep their balance anymore, the both of them decided to go downstairs and see what Ash, Marina, and Jimmy were up to. They made their way down the stairs and found Marina in the television room, where the aqua-haired girl was applying nail polish onto her fingernails. Her gaze snapped onto the brunette and the redhead as they both entered the room. She set down the makeup and greeted them. "Hey guys! Drew sent you here, right?"

"Uh… Drew?" May questioned, unsure of what Marina meant. "We didn't see him upstairs at all. We just decided to come down." It felt like a chore for her to stifle the giggle that wanted to escape. She knew that she was lying when she told Marina that they hadn't seen Drew, but there was no way that she would tell her about the prank they had pulled on him.

"You didn't? Hmm… how strange…" She then shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and said, "Oh, whatever. He's probably busy doing something else up there. Do you guys want sandwiches?" She lifted up a plate laden with ham sandwiches and held it out to May and Misty. "I made them for Drew, but he didn't want them, so I thought that maybe you guys want to have them instead."

"Sure!" May exclaimed, instantly swiping the whole plate from Marina's hands so she could wolf down all of the contents on it.

Misty rolled her emerald green eyes. What else would she expect from the bandanna-wearing girl with the unsatisfiable appetite? "I'm good. May can have them all."

Marina raised a brow in disbelief. "Are you sure? I mean, I know that Ash could eat them all, but I'm not sure if May can."

Misty giggled to herself before replying, "Yep. If there's anything you gotta know about May, it's that she's got an appetite that's as big as Ash's. Maybe even bigger."

"I'll… make sure to keep that in mind," said the blunette, rubbing the back of her neck confusedly.

"By the way, Marina," Misty began, "where's Ash and Jimmy?"

Marina didn't have to answer her, though. The barely audible cry coming from outside was already a good enough response to the question for both Misty and May, even if the brunette was still busy chowing down on the sandwiches.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" came a voice that was distinguishably Ash's. The sound of Pikachu's cry and the crack of thunder could be heard from inside.

"Typhlosion, dodge it with Quick Attack!" another voice ordered, unmistakably Jimmy's. The soft pouncing of the Volcano Pokémon on the ground resonated throughout its environment and even through the glass walls of the building.

"Well, it seems like they're training outside," Marina replied to Misty's question, but it was unnecessary of her to do so. All of the noises coming from outside was enough of an answer. At least, for May it was. The Pokémon Idol expressed a genuine smile and asked, "Do you guys wanna go outside and see how they're doing?"

"There's nothing better do, so I don't see why not," Misty responded with a lazy shrug. "What about you, May?"

She was obviously trying to say something, since Misty could see that the brunette's lips were moving up and down like she was doing her best to articulate words, but her voice was muffled because of the amount of sandwich she had stuffed into her mouth. She couldn't be heard at all, and as she tried to enunciate whatever she wanted to say, bits of bread fell out of her mouth and onto her plate. May facepalmed, knowing that neither Marina nor Misty could make out a word that she was trying to say.

"…I'll just take that as a yes," muttered Misty as she crossed her arms. "So… we'll go outside once May's done eating. Sound good?" Marina nodded in agreement, Misty beaming in response.

Luckily for May, she had been trying to say that she agreed to this plan as well.

* * *

Misty stepped outside and sucked in a breath of fresh air, filling her lungs with the feeling of nature. Nothing had changed since she, May, Ash, and Drew had made their trek up to Marina and Jimmy's house, but she took note of all of her surroundings yet again. The grass and various flowers dotting the ground were swaying with the slight breeze in the air. Trees lined the path the four of them had taken on their way up earlier that morning. Pidgey were flying around in the cloudless blue sky, not seeming to be heading to anywhere in particular.

Ash and Jimmy were training at the battlefield on the left side of the house, and that was where the three girls were heading to. When they approached the two boys who were engaged in a full-on Pokémon battle, Misty, May, and Marina decided to stand in the sidelines and watch how the fight was turning out.

"Pikachu, counter with Iron Tail!" commanded Ash, pointing a finger in Typhlosion's direction.

Pikachu obeyed as he jumped into the air right as Typhlosion was charging straight at the Mouse Pokémon with flames enveloping its entire body, and Misty assumed that Typhlosion was using Flame Wheel. Pikachu's tail began to shine white sparkles as the tail also became surrounded by a white outline around the perimeter. Suddenly, it quickly changed into pure iron as Pikachu swung its tail, colliding with Typhlosion. Both the Iron Tail and the Flame Wheel rebounded off of each other, and the two Pokémon were sent flying back in the direction of their respective Trainers.

Jimmy gritted his teeth before ordering his next move. "Use Flamethrower, Typhlosion!"

The Fire-type Pokémon ignited its back with fire as it charged up its energy for the move. Then, it opened its mouth and let out a red-orange stream of fire aimed right at Pikachu. Pikachu clenched its tiny fists as it prepared for the oncoming attack.

"Stop it with Electro Ball!" Ash instructed.

Sparks of yellow electricity appeared all over Pikachu's body, storing up all the electricity it could muster. Once all the electricity had condensed to its tail and an orange-yellow orb of the electricity it had stored formed there, the Electric-type Pokémon jumped into the air as it did a front flip, all the while hurling the orb in the direction of Typhlosion. The ball of electricity whizzed right through the Flamethrower and caused all the flames to be extinguished.

Jimmy seemed to be panicking. Misty knew that he had to do something to avoid being hit by the Electro Ball, but the orb was moving swiftly. By the time Jimmy came up with a counterattack or a way to dodge the move, the Electro Ball would have already hit Typhlosion.

And that was exactly what happened.

Typhlosion fell onto the ground, hurt by the powerful attack. A crooked smile tugged at Ash's lips before he commanded the finishing blow. "Pikachu, let's end this with Thunderbolt!"

Yellow sparks appeared from Pikachu's tail and its red cheeks. Suddenly, a strong bolt of electricity was released from its body. Hitting Typhlosion dead on, the Thunderbolt attack was enough to make Ash the victor of the practice battle.

"Aw yeah!" Ash shouted, pumping a fist into the air. Pikachu ran up to its Trainer and jumped onto his shoulder. "You were great, Pikachu!" The Mouse Pokémon let out a happy cry before nuzzling its Trainer's cheek.

Even though he had lost, a smile still graced Jimmy's lips as he approached his Pokémon. "You were great, Typhlosion. It was an awesome battle, and you totally deserve a good rest." He held out a Poké Ball, pressed the white button on it, and Typhlosion turned into red light as it was sucked into the red and white sphere.

"That was a great battle, Jimmy! We should totally do that again!" Ash laughed as he offered a hand to Jimmy. The latter shook his hand and stood up from where he had been crouching.

"Good job, Ash!" Misty congratulated, catching the two boys off guard. "Who knew that you would've won?" She shrugged playfully and stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired teenager.

"Were you doubting me?" Ash immediately assumed, an expression of anger suddenly appearing on his face. He stormed over to Misty and placed his hands on his hips. As he towered over the redhead, Misty couldn't help but notice that Ash was… actually a few inches taller than her. She remembered that he had been quite shorter than her six years ago when they had traveled together. It wasn't like she was expecting him to still be shorter than her; he was taller and he had already reached _that _stage by now, anyways. But nonetheless, she liked his height now, she realized. A blush made its way onto her neck, but fortunately Ash didn't notice that. "Mist, were you doubting me?" he asked, a hint of impatience etched in his voice.

"Well… I never said that," the Gym Leader pointed out. That brought a small grin onto Ash's face. "But I did imply it, you know." A cruel yet teasing smirk made its way onto her lips.

Ash threw his hands up in exasperation. "And just when I thought that you were actually gonna support me…." he muttered under his breath, but Misty could still hear him anyways.

"What was that, Ashy?" asked Misty. "I'm not sure if I quite heard you."

He scrunched his nose. "I said nothing."

"That's what I thought." She smirked and crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly.

"Jimmy, that was great!" Marina exclaimed as she embraced Jimmy. She placed a small kiss on his lips and pulled away.

"Thanks, Marina," he said. "It would've been awesome to win, but Ash is stronger than me. He'll probably always be stronger than me." He let out a dry laugh after saying those words.

"Don't say that!" she scolded him, a mix of anger and playfulness on her face. "Then you'll never become stronger!"

"Yeah, you're right," admitted Jimmy, shrugging. "Hey, Marina, do you wanna take a walk or something and just relax?"

"Sure!" she replied. She turned her attention onto Misty, May, and Ash. "You guys can head back inside if you want. Jimmy and I'll be back later."

"'Kay then," Misty agreed.

* * *

Marina and Jimmy had taken a short stroll from their house and into the town, but nowhere that was too busy. They had decided to sit under the shade of a tree and chill out for a moment before heading back to the house.

Marina sighed as she recollected all the events that had happened since this morning. First of all, Ash and Drew had come to them very early this morning. She had heard that Drew was here to enter in an upcoming Contest in Cherrygrove City, and he had wanted to stay with Jimmy and Marina for the night before he made his way over there. Ash was supposed to be heading to the Indigo League after visiting Goldenrod City for an interview he had to attend to at the Goldenrod Radio Tower, and the ferry wasn't leaving until tomorrow morning, so he had arranged to stay at the house before taking off the next morning.

And then there was May and Misty. Those two guests were definitely surprises to her, especially since it wasn't that common for either of them to be doing some traveling for fun with them being in school. True, they claimed that school was on break and they decided to take a vacation, but Marina suspected that there was something more that they were keeping to themselves. They weren't acting suspicious, though, so there was no evidence to prove that argument. Nonetheless, she had been finding May and Misty's company to be pleasant. It had been a while since any girls had visited, not to mention girls who were _celebrities_.

Basically, the day had been a great one. She couldn't have asked for more.

With nothing else to do, Marina took out a small journal and a mechanical pencil from the small aqua-colored backpack she had brought along. She opened to the first blank page she could find and started thinking of some lyrics for her next single. For this one, she wanted to write a song that was more sweet, subtle, yet meaningful all at the same time. Most of her songs had been energetic pop songs that were all about having fun and enjoying life, but she wanted to do something different.

The first thing she thought of was Jimmy. Ever since they had started dating, Marina had yet to write a song about their relationship. So for this one, she decided for the lyrics to be about her love for him.

The lyrics came quick to her, but she only had come up with the chorus. As she thought about Jimmy, she couldn't help but remember the events that had happened six years ago with her, Jimmy, Vincent, Raikou, Team Rocket, and Eugene. It was all coming back to her all of a sudden. And for some strange reason, the lyrics that she had written on her paper so far reminded her of that day…

Suddenly, the wind picked up so Marina closed her journal and stuck her pencil inside of it to keep her spot as she made sure that her hair and her clothes were okay, and that her journal wasn't flying away. When it had died down, she let out a small sigh of relief, but she was distracted once again when she saw Jimmy panicking beside her.

"What's wrong?" Marina asked, a little worried.

"I lost my hat!" exclaimed Jimmy, looking all over the place for the article of clothing. "I think the wind took it somewhere!"

Marina giggled to herself. He was so cute when he was in a fret. "Don't worry so much. I'm pretty sure your hat isn't that far from here. Why don't you look over there?" She pointed a finger toward a field of tall grass. "Or it could be in Route 29."

"Possibly," Jimmy agreed. "Stay right there, Marina! I've gotta find my hat!" He sprinted in the direction of Route 29, leaving Marina all alone under the tree. She opened up her journal again and tapped her pencil on her chin, thinking of lyrics for the first verse.

But as she did so, she was suddenly pushed on the ground and someone was attempting to choke her.

Her immediate instincts were either to call for help or try to get off of this guy, find Jimmy, and head back to the house. She decided to go with the second option.

The blunette started kicking her legs wildly as she tried to get out of this person's hold, but to no avail. As she did so, she tried to make out this person's facial features, but there was a facemask covering his (or her?) entire face, except for his eyes, but she focused more on struggling out rather than trying to determine the person's eye color. Luckily, she landed a kick straight at the strangler's shin, causing him to yelp in pain. He let go of Marina, but he was still in an extremely awkward position right above her.

She tried to crawl away from him, only to be met by yet another person dressed in all black. "Dude, I can't believe you got served by a girl!"

"Hey, she's good!" The first black-clad person was hugging his hurt leg to his chest. From the person's voice, Marina could tell that this person was a male. The voice was also strangely familiar, too, but she couldn't put a name to the voice.

The second person groaned. "Whatever…" Yet again, that voice was also strangely familiar to Marina, but she couldn't tell whose it was either. "Let's just deal with her and get out of here." He eyed the aqua-haired girl and said to her, "Keep quiet and we won't hurt you. But if you let out a _single sound_, you're screwed. Sound good?"

Marina's lips quivered with fear. Oh, how she wished Jimmy were here to help her out. And she was even stupid enough to leave all of her Poké Balls at the house. So instead, she did the only thing she could muster to do.

"Help!" she cried out loud. "Jimmy! Someone! Help!" Her teal-colored eyes were beginning to tear and all Marina wanted to do was cry. But she knew that wouldn't be a good idea. She had to stay strong and make sure that she would stay alive through this.

"Hey, I told you to keep quiet!" hissed the second man. "Do you want me to kill you or not?"

She flinched at the word "kill". Were they really going to kill her? But she still tried to call for Jimmy or someone to help her out anyways.

"Help!" she shrieked again, this time even louder than before. "Someone, please just help!" But by then, her voice had been becoming quieter. Tears had already been streaming down from her eyes and wetting her cheeks.

She was crying. And she had tried so hard not to.

"She won't listen!" grunted the same man. Marina couldn't make out his facial expression, but she could imagine a malicious smirk gracing his lips right now. "We'll just have to deal with her some other way then." He held out a rifle that was aimed at her chest.

And just like that, he pulled the trigger.

As the bullet shot through Marina, her last thoughts were of Jimmy, her main source of happiness in her life. And also how strange it seemed that this person seemed to have some other emotion etched in his voice.

Sorrow.

* * *

"Finally!" Jimmy announced to himself as he stooped down to pick up his black and yellow hat. He brushed off the dirt on it and placed it over his raven-colored hair. Beaming, he turned around and made his way back to the tree that he and Marina had been sitting under.

But what he saw there made him wish that he had never decided to leave her in the first place.

"No…" He shook his head and pinched himself, hoping that it was just a dream. But when he saw what was before him once again, he realized that this wasn't a dream. It was reality. "No, no, no!"

He ran up to Marina, her body lying on the ground unconsciously. The life in her eyes seemed to have disappeared, and her pale skin was becoming even paler. What scared him the most, though, was the fact that there was blood pouring out from her chest.

He couldn't believe that Marina was gone. Hell, he didn't want to believe that Marina was gone.

Shaking her limp body with all his power, he shouted, "Marina, don't leave me! I know you're still alive! Please, wake up!" But he was completely ignored; no sound came out from her mouth. He continued shaking her more and more, but it didn't work. He even tried mouth-to-mouth CPR, but she didn't seem to be any better. He knew it was pointless to keep trying, but he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop until his Marina showed some sign of her being alive. But a part of his mind knew that she was gone.

And so he cried, letting out all of the emotions inside of him along with his tears. Sadness for losing the best thing in his life. Rage at whoever had decided to murder her. Confusion as for why anyone would want to murder her. Stupidity for not staying with Marina and trying to find his hat instead.

As if she were reading his thoughts, her eyes fluttered open. The movement of her eyelids was incredibly slow, but that was enough for Jimmy. Marina was alive, and that was all that mattered to him right now. "Jimmy?" she croaked, looking down at her chest. She laughed dryly to herself. "Arceus, I look awful."

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at her attempt at humor. "You're beautiful no matter how you look, Marina."

"So you think a girl shot by a bullet and covered in blood is a pretty sight?" she asked sarcastically. The both of them laughed, but it soon died out.

"Marina, I gotta get you to the nearest hospital," Jimmy suddenly said, changing the subject. "You're losing blood like crazy." He took his Pokégear out of his pocket, but his girlfriend then took his wrist and shook her head. Jimmy was puzzled. "Marina, what's wrong?"

"Don't do it, Jimmy," she urged. "There's no point. I'll probably die by the time the ambulance gets here anyways."

"But… but…" Tears were beginning to trail down his cheeks once again. All he wanted right now was for Marina to continue living. There was no way he would allow Marina to die like this. "…You can't leave me, Marina. I need you." A lump formed in his throat and he tried to swallow it in, but it was still there.

"Jimmy, it's pointless," she said, the most beautiful smile on her face. She leaned in toward Jimmy and whispered into his ear, "I love you." And just like that, Jimmy could feel her body becoming colder and her heartbeat slowly dying away. She was gone.

"I love you, too," he murmured to himself, wiping away his tears.

Suddenly, he noticed Marina's lyric journal opened up next to her. He picked it up and read what it said on the page it was open to.

_Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound_

He could tell that the lyrics weren't complete, but it wouldn't matter now. The words themselves were simple, yet they were the most beautiful lyrics he had ever read. He could tell that she was summarizing what had happened to them six years ago with Raikou and Team Rocket. But there was something else about them, like a hidden meaning.

Marina was trying to express how much she loved him and how much he meant to her. It was almost like she was suspecting that this tragic event would happen.

He let his head rest on hers, the tears spilling out of his eyes and wetting his cheeks and her forehead. "I already miss you so much, Marina," he whispered to her, his voice cracking, hoping that she could hear him.

And he knew that somewhere, wherever her spirit was at the moment, Marina was missing him too.

* * *

**A/N: I'm crying right now. Seriously, I'm crying. And I'm not usually the type of person who cries over something I wrote or read. D:**

**I can't believe I had the nerve to kill off Quest. I'm so evil. Dx**

**Well, I'm not crying like crazy, but I just shed a few tears. That's it.**

**Oh, and if the title of this chapter didn't already make it obvious for you, the song that Marina was writing was "Safe And Sound" by Taylor Swift from **_**The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 And Beyond**_**. It's such a beautiful song. **

**But anyways, tell me what you thought! Review, please? (I think I'm still crying.)**


	8. Chapter 7: Regrouping

**Chapter 7: Regrouping**

* * *

_Saturday, 2:03 PM; New Bark Town, Johto_

May flipped open her PokéNav and checked the time, realizing that it had been almost an hour since Jimmy and Marina had left the residence to take their walk. They still hadn't come back yet, though. Noticing their missing presence, May began feeling a bit uncomfortable and edgy regarding where the young couple had possibly went off to and why they hadn't returned by now.

She released a sigh as she tried to control the anxiety and concern inside of her. May was incredibly worried about those two. Despite the fact that she and Misty had only met them this morning, they had already become close; it almost felt like she had known them for years.

Attempting to distract herself from her uneasy thoughts, May stood up from the leather sofa she had been sitting on, found the refrigerator in the kitchen, and opened it to look for what contents it contained. She couldn't settle on what to eat as she rummaged through the food, although there were several things she had already put into consideration. The refrigerator consisted of what someone would find in a typical fridge: vegetables, dairy products, leftovers from last night's dinner, and several other eats. May had been expecting something fancier, considering that the house which Marina and Jimmy lived in and the high-quality refrigerator in the kitchen had probably cost them both a good amount of money, but she didn't mind.

Remembering one of her favorite dishes her mother taught her to make and often cooked with Leaf, Misty, and Dawn back at their dorm, crepes, May grabbed a pack of eggs, a milk carton, and a stick of butter. She searched through the pantry and the cupboards, also finding flour and a measuring cup. She filled the cup halfway with water from the sink and poured it into a blender that was standing on the granite countertops. She plugged in a cable to power on the blender, and once she had done so, she threw in all the other ingredients into it. The brunette let it churn and pulse for ten seconds before turning the kitchen appliance off and filling a bowl with the newly made batter for the crepes she planned on making. May then placed the batter on one of the shelves in the refrigerator. Now, all she had to do was wait an hour before she could make the final dish.

One long hour. One devastatingly long hour. An hour in which she would have to wait before she could satisfy her appetite.

One long hour of waiting for Marina and Jimmy to return.

In that time she had spent in the kitchen, about ten minutes had flown by. Yet the owners of the house still weren't here yet. Where could they possibly be, and what was taking them forever?

A part of May wanted to stay in the house and wait for them in the hopes that they were perfectly fine and that they had wanted to take their time with their walk. Another part of her wanted to leave the house and find those two. After all, she was getting more and more worried about them as the seconds ticked by, and she didn't want anything bad happening to either of them. Unless something already had…

May shook her head, not allowing herself to go that far. New Bark Town was a fairly small and quaint place, and if a shady character were to appear, someone would probably have spotted him or her and reported that person to the local Officer Jenny already. May knew they were in safe hands. So why should she be so worried? Why was she being so worried in the first place?

Interrupting the brunette's train of thought, Drew, Ash, and Misty walked down the flight of stairs to the bottom floor, perspiration trickling down each one of their faces. May raised a wry brow at the sight of them looking so exhausted and sweaty. "What happened to you guys?" she asked, although she knew what they had been doing. Feigning innocence, she accidentally let out a soft giggle. Luckily, she herself was the only person to have heard it.

"Well, _May_, we had to clean up the mess you planned upstairs," Misty muttered, crossing her arms and letting out a huff of annoyance. "I mean, I know that you hate Drew, but was it really that necessary to set up that whole prank thing? I don't think so."

May furrowed her brows and scrunched her nose. Not in anger, but in confusion. Misty had admitted earlier that she thought that pulling that prank on Drew was an ingenious idea, and now her opinion on that matter was the complete opposite. She was complaining about how she hated the whole set-up and how they should never have done it in the first place. What was up with her? But what could she expect? This was Misty, after all. One minute she was one of the sweetest friends May had ever known, but the next minute she was a ferocious young woman who would do anything in her power to get what she wanted by means of picking a fight and bickering. _Talk about personality_, thought May.

"Hey, I thought you were the one saying that it was pure genius," May reminded, putting her hands up in defeat and letting a smirk grace her lips. "Looks like someone's being a hypocrite."

The redhead rolled her eyes, not bothering to send a nasty retort back at the brunette. "Whatever…" She sat on the sofa and kicked her feet up, completely covering the piece of furniture with her body. May laughed lightly to herself as she propped an elbow onto the kitchen countertops and placed her chin in the palm of her hand. Misty could be a bit surly at times, but she was always such a dear companion, no matter what. Her hotheadedness only masked the kindness inside of her.

Out of the corner of her eye, May noticed Drew nudging Ash in the ribs, a smirk plastered on the grasshead's lips. "She's a feisty one, isn't she?" he teased playfully, obviously referring to Misty. It seemed like he was implying that Ash had feelings for her; at least, that was how May interpreted Drew's words.

"No kidding," Ash agreed, nodding his head fervently. "What girl carries around a mallet with her everywhere? She's even got one of the biggest tempers ever!" Ash should have felt fortunate that Misty hadn't heard him, since May speculated that Misty really would have taken out her mallet and whacked him with the weapon. The brunette had never seen her friend use her mallet to cause physical pain on anyone before, but she had seen the mallet itself, and May definitely didn't want to be hit by it. Ever.

"Good–you'll have a girl who'll actually hurt you when it's needed," Drew pointed out. "That way, you won't be as dumb as you are now. Plus, you'll have someone who'll protect you when you've got no idea what's going on." Drew made his way to the kitchen, leaving behind a confused-looking Ash; May assumed that he was only heading this way because she was there.

When Drew approached her, he sighed while rolling his eyes. "He's probably the most oblivious guy I've ever met. Isn't it so obvious that he and Misty have something for each other? He's just being a total pussy about how he feels for her."

"I've always thought that they were a cute couple," May mused. "If anyone in the world were to get together, it'd be Ash and Misty. But I'm not forcing anything. Ash needs to realize it himself, and if they get into a relationship while he's still so oblivious to basically everything, it'll only result in broken hearts for the both of them." She shrugged to herself before continuing. "But I could be wrong. All's fair in love and war."

"That's a lot of words coming from someone who's never had a relationship herself," Drew stated matter-of-factly. This caused May to scowl, but before she could open her mouth to say something, Drew had already begun speaking once again. "But honestly, I think they should just get together now. If either one of them wait any longer, their feelings for each other might be gone, just like that. And that wouldn't be good."

Right as he finished saying that, a deep blush began growing on his cheeks and his neck, like he had just said something incredibly embarrassing, although he hadn't. Was there some sort of hidden meaning to this? May knew that people would blush when the subject of whom he or she had a crush on would be mentioned, or even just the subject of romance and love in general. Was it possible that Drew Hayden was in love with someone? And if so, whom? May knew that she was getting into his privacy a bit, but she desperately wanted to know whom he had his sights on. If he actually had his sights on anyone, that was.

"You've never been in a relationship either, actually," May countered, hoping that she had cornered Drew so that he wouldn't think of a snappy comeback to bring up.

But, as always, he did.

"Do you ever see guys flocking up to you and asking you for an autograph, May?" Drew smirked, flicking a lock of green hair out of his face and wagging a finger at her. "Well, I don't think so. But do _I _have girls dying to meet me and get an autograph? I bet you can answer that question yourself."

May grunted and grimaced. She knew that she should have seen something like this coming. "Just… just shut up, you grasshead!" May lightly shoved him away, but all he did was let out an amused chuckle. As she did so, May could feel her heartbeat quicken and her face grow warmer at the touch of his skin on her hand. It was this feeling again. That feeling she always felt around Drew. But what exactly was it? No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, she knew it wasn't hatred. Could it possibly be…? No, it just wasn't possible. She didn't want to venture that far.

Trying to get her mind off of her emotions, May quickly remembered another troubling thought that had been bothering her. "Hey Drew, do you know where Jimmy and Marina are?"

"Nah, haven't seen them," he responded, shrugging. If May looked closely, she could sense a tiny bit of guilt in his voice… But what could he possibly be guilty for? He had been in the house the whole time, after all. "But they're taking an awfully long time with their walk."

May nodded in silent agreement. "Yeah, I'm getting worried about them… Why're they taking so freaking long?"

"Who knows?" Drew said. "Maybe they found a good place under a tree and decided to make out."

"Ugh! That's disgusting! Where did you get that from?!" May stomped on his foot, and he let out a barely audible yelp. She narrowed his eyes at him to convey the message that his response was definitely not appropriate, and although it was purely just a rhetorical question, the annoying, green-haired jerk decided to answer anyways.

"If you don't believe me, why don't you go find them yourself?" Drew asked coolly as he ambled out of the kitchen, taking a seat on a leather recliner in the television room.

But he had made a point. If May was becoming so worried about Marina and Jimmy's whereabouts, she might as well go looking for them, right? She had nothing better to do at the moment. Taking a walk down to the center of New Bark Town would be refreshing, and she and Misty could also keep their eyes out for any suspicious activity in the area. It wasn't a bad idea, really.

"Hey, Misty, do you wanna go look for Marina and Jimmy with me?" May suggested, walking out of the kitchen and to the sofa where the redhead was lying down with her arms behind her head.

Misty's gaze drifted away from the ceiling above her, emerald green eyes locking with sapphire blue ones. A thoughtful expression was on her face, possibly thinking about May's offer. When her eyes slightly widened, May knew that she had understood the hidden meaning behind the brunette's words. "Yeah, sounds good." Misty's feet touched the ground, and as they did so, the redheaded teenager stretched her arms out before walking over to the front door. May followed suit as Misty opened the door and walked out.

The two girls traversed down the hill where the house stood to get to the busier areas of New Bark Town. They kept their eyes out for any sight of either Marina or Jimmy while trying to pick up any suspicious activity at the same time. May mostly tried to search for the couple; her concern for those two made her feel uneasy and insecure about their safety.

After a few minutes of walking and searching for Marina and Jimmy, Misty asked, "Hey, isn't that Jimmy over there?" She pointed toward a tree not too far off. May looked in the direction Misty was pointing to, and sure enough, the brunette saw an aqua-haired girl with a periwinkle-colored beret on her head slumped against a tree. Kneeling next to her was a raven-haired boy, a black and yellow baseball cap on his slightly disheveled black locks, about the same age as the girl, holding the girl's hand tightly in his, their fingers intertwined.

A smile grew on May's lips. It was Jimmy and Marina, and they were perfectly fine! There had been no need for her to be worrying over those two. Thankfully, they weren't making out like Drew had suggested, but were enjoying a sweet moment together in the shade of a tree. They probably had decided to take a break and relax before making their way back to the house, and May understood that. She and Misty pushed aside bushes and tree branches as they made their way over to the tree that Jimmy and Marina were under.

But when May and Misty finally approached them, they wished they never had.

"Jimmy…" May gasped, unable to control her rising bewilderment. "Jimmy, what the hell happened?"

"Some asshole decided to murder her," he answered menacingly, a look of fury evident on his face. "I'll never forgive them for what they did to her." He slammed a fist onto the ground, only to lift it back up to see that he had scratches on his knuckles. It didn't seem like he cared, though. He obviously just wanted to get revenge on Marina's murderer and kill him or her for good.

"Calm down, Jimmy," May insisted. "There's nothing you can do to save her; she's already… dead." The brunette shuddered at that last word. "Please, just go back to the house. Misty and I still have some business we gotta take care of. We'll do our best to do something about Marina's body. We can't let it sit around here and rot, after all."

May tried to grab his arm to help him get him up on his feet, but he shoved her away. "No. I'm not gonna leave Marina," he grunted through gritted teeth. "I… I can't leave her. I _won't _leave her."

"But Jimmy, it'll just make it all the more worse for you if you just stay around," Misty reasoned. "Please, Jimmy?" She bit down on her bottom lip nervously. "I'll… I'll take you back, if you want."

After a long moment of hesitation, Jimmy nodded, reluctantly inching away from Marina. Before he left, though, he pressed his lips onto Marina's forehead and squeezed her hand. The sight of this caused May's heart to tear. It was absolutely heartbreaking for her to know that Jimmy could never get Marina back. If it was this heartrending for her, she wondered how hard it was for Jimmy. She could only imagine what he was feeling right now, and she definitely didn't want to be in his position.

Misty escorted the raven-haired boy back to the house, walking back up the path she and May had taken just earlier. Once the redhead returned, the brunette faced her friend, trying to look stoic as she did so, but deep inside, she wanted to cry. Not because she was depressed, but because she hated herself for letting Marina and Jimmy go on their walk in the first place. If May had prevented them both from doing so and convinced them to stay home instead, none of this would have happened. Marina wouldn't be dead, Jimmy wouldn't be sulky, and everything would be perfectly normal and everyone perfectly happy.

But she had let them go. And now, she had to pay the price. Marina's death was the result of May's stupid decision.

"Misty, can you get the bullet out of her?" May let out a ragged breath, trying to calm down her nerves. She took her PokéNav out of her pocket, flipped it open, and searched her Match Call until she found the one person whom she had to phone. "I gotta tell Professor Birch about what happened; he and everyone else back at Rebellion City has to be informed." May tossed the redhead a pair of tweezers that she kept in a small green pack strapped around her waist like a belt. Misty caught the tweezers and immediately began working on getting the bullet out.

May could tell that this tragic event was taking an emotional toll on not just herself, but Misty as well. The three girls had become close pretty quickly, and to know that they would never be able to see, hear, or speak to her ever again was not an easy burden to handle. May knew that this would leave a permanent scar on her forever, no matter how hard she would try to forget it. The same most likely applied for Misty, too.

May held her PokéNav up to her ear and waited for Professor Birch to pick up. It took two rings before his voice was finally heard from the other end of the line.

"Hey, May," the brunette heard the professor say. "What is it?"

"Professor, the perpetrator killed someone else," May stated. As she said it, she could feel her eyes becoming watery. It felt like a chore for her to hold back her tears.

Immediately, May could feel tension in the air, despite the fact that Professor Birch wasn't physically there. "Who was it? The one who was murdered, I mean." His voice had dropped until it sounded like he was muttering. May had to strain her ears to make out what he was saying.

"Marina Brooks," May replied shakily, clenching and unclenching her empty hand. The topic was already troubling enough to think about, but it was even harder to talk about it. When there was no response from Professor Birch, May decided to continue. "Sixteen years old, famous Pokémon Idol and Top Coordinator, blue hair. Does that ring a bell?"

For a while, the only thing that came from the other line was silence. May assumed that the Pokémon professor was currently in deep thought. "I think I might have seen her on the cover of a Trainers' magazine I found in Brendan's room a while ago…"

Hearing the name of May's childhood friend gave her memories of the times before she had first set off on her first Pokémon journey. In spite of May and Brendan living in different cities in the Hoenn region, they spent most of their time together. They had never done anything Pokémon related due to the fact that May had been frightened of Pokémon as a child, so the two found other ways to have fun. Now that they were older and they both went on separate paths, they didn't see each other as often as they would like, but they still kept in touch. But no matter what came in their way, nothing could ever ruin their friendship.

"Misty's taking out the bullet right now," May informed. "She was shot with a bullet and it went straight through her heart."

"Tell him that there are strangle marks around her neck as well!" Misty shouted from where she was. She was looking intently around the head region of Marina's body. The bullet had already been taken out and it was sealed into a plastic bag, specifically for evidence.

May nodded and said into the PokéNav, "Misty says that there are strangle marks on her neck."

"Just like Lyra…" Professor Birch mused. "Whoever was the perpetrator, I'm afraid that he or she murdered both Lyra and Marina. Gary sent in the evidence that Leaf and Dawn had collected, and the results were exactly the same as what you have told me. They tried to run a fingerprint test on Lyra, but nothing came up, so we are assuming that this person was gloved. We might be getting onto something here… May, I'll be sending Professor Juniper over there to run a fingerprint test on Marina. For now, I have another task for you and Misty."

"What is it?" May inquired.

"I want you and Misty to buy tickets for the next ferry to Lilycove City," the professor responded. "This is just an assumption, but I think the perpetrator is going for girls in cities where some sort of huge event will take place. There was supposed to be a convention later in the day with all of Kanto's Gym Leaders and Elite Four attending at Viridian City, and Marina was going to be performing at a concert in New Bark Town tonight. The Wallace Cup finals will be held tonight, and that would be a good place for the perpetrator to make his next move."

May thought about this for a moment. It was a logical assumption; she was sure of that, and she wholeheartedly agreed that the perpetrator could be heading to Lilycove City for such a grand event. But how would she figure out which girl would be the next one on this killer's hit list? She was certain that there were many female Coordinators who were in the Wallace Cup, and it would be incredibly difficult to determine which one would be the next victim. She might not even be a Coordinator at all.

_I guess Misty and I are just gonna have to figure something out when we actually get there_, May thought.

"Oh, and one more thing, May," Professor Birch piped up. May remained silent, waiting for him to continue. It seemed like he had sensed her silent message. "I need Misty to call Leaf with her Pokégear. Tell her to tell Leaf to buy the next ferry tickets to Lilycove City as well, so you, Misty, Leaf, and Dawn can team up and track down the perpetrator together. Understood?"

"Understood," May responded firmly. And with that, she hung up.

As the brunette shoved her PokéNav back into her pocket, the faintest of smiles fought its way onto her lips. Sure, she was still crestfallen after finding out what had happened to Marina, but now that she and the rest of her girls were finally reunited again, May had the motivation and the desire to stop the perpetrator once and for all. This person had already murdered two innocent teenage girls with a good life ahead of them, and there should be no more deaths. They needed to end this case quickly so Lyra and Marina wouldn't have died in vain. They needed to end this case quickly so no more girls would die. They needed to end this case quickly so no one would be weeping for their loved ones anymore.

"Hey, Misty, are you done over there?" May asked, not bothering to make eye contact with her. Her back was facing the redhead and her sapphire orbs were eyeing nothing in particular.

"I've been done for a while already," Misty grumbled, taking May's shoulders to turn her around. As she was spun around, the brunette was startled, but the surprise quickly wore off.

"Oh! Sorry about that." May clasped her hands together nervously before a determined expression appeared on her face. "Misty, call Leaf. We're heading to Lilycove City."

* * *

_Saturday, 2:21 PM; Viridian City, Kanto_

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball on Piplup!"

Gary's Umbreon opened its mouth and a black and purple sphere of dark energy was building up in front of it. Once all of the Pokémon's energy had been stored up, it launched the ball in Piplup's direction. The move hit Piplup right at its stomach and sent it flying back. Leaf gritted her teeth; she hoped that Dawn's Pokémon wasn't knocked out already.

But luckily, it wasn't. The Water-type Pokémon slowly got to its feet, although there were bruises all over the poor little guy's body. It didn't care that its health was dwindling down, though. The more it was hurt, the more determined it became to put an end to this battle. And Leaf knew that that was why Dawn always had complete faith in her trusty partner Pokémon.

"Wigglytuff, put them to sleep with Sing!" Leaf commanded.

The Balloon Pokémon began singing a soothing melody, attempting to put Umbreon and Paul's Electivire to sleep, music notes of various colors floating out of its mouth at the same time. As Leaf heard her Pokémon's singing, she swore she could've fallen asleep as well; then again, she always felt this way when she ordered her Pokémon to use Sing, but she always held back from doing so. Luckily, for Leaf and Dawn, Umbreon was struck by one of the music notes and it quickly fell into a deep slumber.

The same didn't apply for Electivire, though.

"Electivire, use Protect to shield yourself!" Paul ordered.

The Electric-type Pokémon put its arms in front of its face, its body glowing a yellow-green color as it did so. A green force field then surrounded its entire form in an attempt to protect it from Wigglytuff's Sing attack. To Leaf's dismay, the Protect managed to nullify the Sing attack completely.

"Now finish this up with ThunderPunch!" instructed Paul, an emotionless expression plastered on his face like always.

"Piplup, stop it with Ice Beam before it makes a move!" Dawn directed.

The two Pokémon readied their attacks at the same time, but due to Piplup's lighter weight, it beat Electivire to making the next move. The Water type opened its beak, forming a light blue sphere inside of it and firing multiple rays of ice from the sphere to Electivire. Once it had hit Paul's Pokémon, it was completely frozen and immobile due to the ice surrounding its body, causing it to be unable to use the ThunderPunch attack that its Trainer had ordered.

"Use Tri Attack on Umbreon while it's still asleep, Wigglytuff!" Leaf ordered.

A three point pyramid began to form around Wigglytuff's body, an orb of light also forming on the top vertex of the three-dimensional object. It then fired a beam from the light orb, hitting Umbreon dead on, sending it back, hitting a nearby tree with a lot of force. Leaf was about to send out another order to finish up Gary's Pokémon, but she was interrupted when said brunet raised both of his hands up like he was surrendering.

Which he was.

"Well, that was a fun match," he claimed, "but I think it's time we all take a break."

"What?!" Leaf screeched, storming up to him and scowling at him. "We still need to finish the battle so Dawn and I can win! Don't tell me that you're afraid. Are you?" A smug expression made its way onto her face.

"The best Trainers know when to end a battle and when to continue it," pointed out Gary like he had read it out of a book. "And this is definitely a good time to end. We're only doing a practice battle, you know." He winked at the brunette flirtatiously.

Leaf rolled her eyes and crossed her arms due to the stupidity behind his reasoning, but she was surprised when she felt an arm placing itself around her shoulders, the hand dangling down from her left one. She didn't even need to look to realize that Gary was the one who had done that. She immediately picked up his arm and threw it off of her shoulder. Pushing the brunet away with a single push at his sternum with her pointer finger, she sighed in exasperation. "Nice try, Oak, but you'll have to do better than that if you wanna kiss me."

"Who said I was gonna kiss you?" he countered, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Just… just get out of my life," Leaf muttered, stomping away from him and sitting down at an outdoor picnic table across from Dawn and diagonally from Paul. The two of them had been watching Leaf and Gary's quarreling for some time, and the brunette didn't even notice until now that they had quietly returned their Pokémon and sneaked out of the scene. And here they were now.

After Leaf and Gary returned their Pokémon to their respective Poké Balls as well, Leaf let out a groan when Gary came up to the three and took the empty seat next to her. She buried her face in her hands and shook her head, brown locks spilling down to her mid-back region. She wished that Gary would just stop bugging her and let her be, only for a day at the least.

"Hey, Gary!" Dawn greeted, trying to ignore the sexual tension between the brown-haired duo. Gary winked in return, causing the blunette to turn a light pink and giggle.

"See Leaf? Dawn doesn't mind me." He smirked triumphantly, knowing that it would just tick her off even further. As he expected, it did.

"Gary, can't you ever just shut your face?!" she hollered, glaring at him.

"I can't shut my face, but I can shut my mouth if you want." He shrugged like it wasn't that big of a deal. This only got Leaf even more annoyed. So she decided to shut up herself.

"They're… definitely interesting," Dawn remarked to no one in particular.

Paul seemed to have heard her for he had replied to her. "I think they're weird and they should find a way to solve their problems. How bad could it be?" Leaf wanted to argue against that, but she figured that Gary would say something again, and she didn't want that to happen. Instead, she kept her lips sealed.

"Good point," Dawn agreed, nodding her head. She cocked her head to the side a little before speaking up again. "You know, Paul, you haven't gotten rusty over all these years we haven't met. Your Electivire's still in good shape."

He eyed the blunette quizzically, but then rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered. His onyx-colored eyes then lit up, although it was incredibly hard for Leaf to pick it up. It was a nice change to see some sort of emotion in this usually quiet guy. "You did pretty good too… I guess." Dawn's cheeks burned a light red from hearing Paul's compliment. She nodded in response, not giving him a verbal answer.

Suddenly, Leaf's Pokégear started to ring. She took it out of her skirt's pocket and found out that it was Misty who was calling her. Leaf had a vague idea what this call would be about: the case.

She stood up from her seat and said, "I gotta go take this call, guys." She walked away from the table, making sure she was out of hearing distance from everyone else. When she was sure that she was far away from them, she held her Pokégear to her ear. "What's up, Misty?"

"Leaf, there was another murder," Misty stated immediately.

The words that came out of the redhead's mouth were like knives being stabbed repeatedly into her heart. She couldn't believe that there was another victim. She felt like they weren't doing their job correctly; after all, they were supposed to be solving this case while preventing any more murders from happening. But it seemed like it was almost impossible to know who was going to be murdered next if they didn't know the perpetrator's motives.

Overcoming her shock, Leaf finally decided to respond as a lump formed in her throat. "What happened?"

She heard a sigh from the other end of the line. "The same thing that happened to Lyra. The victim was shot with a .22 bullet and there were strangle marks around her neck. We could be wrong, but whoever killed Lyra might have killed Marina–she's the latest victim–as well."

"Is there anything you want me and Dawn to do?" Leaf asked, hoping that they would have another task to keep them busy for a while. Not only did she want to get away from Gary, but she also wanted to finish this case. And fast.

"Professor Birch wants you guys to buy the next ferry ticket to Lilycove City," Misty answered. "May and I are heading there as well, so we'll meet up once we get there."

"Okay then," Leaf said. "We'll see you guys there." She quickly ended the call, turned around, and made her way back to the table. She pulled Dawn out of her seat, the blunette almost tripping as Leaf did so.

"What's up?" Dawn asked in a hushed tone.

"We gotta board the next ferry to Lilycove City," Leaf responded. "There's no time to explain much now, but we'll be meeting up with Misty and May when we get there."

A determined expression appeared on Dawn's face as the two girls sprinted all the way back to Route 2, knowing that their bikes were there. They had to go back to Vermilion City and take the ferry, and the fastest way to get there was by riding their bikes that they had abandoned. As they ran away from the boys, Leaf stuck her tongue out in Gary's direction, but he only winked back at her and ran a hand through his spiky locks of hair. Dawn also slightly turned around, waving back to Paul as she tried to keep up with her brunette friend.

When Leaf tilted her head to the side just a bit, she swore that she could barely see a smile on Paul's face as he nonchalantly waved back.

* * *

_Saturday, 2:35 PM; New Bark Town, Johto_

Professor Juniper crouched down, observing the corpse of Marina Brooks. And sure enough, there had been a bullet that pierced her heart and strangle marks on her neck. Just like what had happened to Lyra Kotone.

Seeing bloody sights like these were terrifying for a woman like her, but her fears weren't as important as running a fingerprint test in the hopes that the perpetrator's identity would be revealed. The machine was still analyzing the fingerprint that she had found, and it was almost done. She figured that it would only be minutes until the analysis was complete.

While waiting for its completion, she heard a ringing sound coming from somewhere. She realized that it was her Xtransceiver that was making the noise. She noticed that it was a call from Touko, and a smile graced the professor's lips. It had been a while before Touko had called, and Professor Juniper was glad she did so. She picked up the call, and another screen was automatically ejected from the right side of the device, showing the professor's own face, while the screen in the center showed Touko's. Another green-haired hat-wearing figure was standing next to her, and Professor Juniper immediately knew that it was N.

"Hey, Touko!" Juniper exclaimed. "How've you been?"

She laughed before replying, "I'm good, professor. I just wanted to say hi. N's with me, if you haven't noticed."

"Hey, I guess," he chuckled, waving from the screen.

"It's been a while since I've heard from either of you," Professor Juniper pointed out. "Have you guys been busy?"

Touko sighed. "Yeah. Being the Pokémon Champion of Unova requires me to be at so many meetings and conferences, and then I get challengers once in a while as well. It's a busy life for the both of us."

"Being her boyfriend does have its downsides," he admitted nonchalantly, sighing dramatically and shoving his hands into his pockets.

"N!" she shrieked, scowling at him.

"Hey, I was kidding, Touko," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. Her anger had completely disappeared once he had done so.

"Well, I'm really busy right now, so I gotta go now," Professor Juniper said, noticing that the fingerprint analysis was done. Unfortunately, no results came up. Just like Lyra's. She sighed; she would have also facepalmed herself, but she knew that Touko was watching her from the screen of her own Xtransceiver.

Touko furrowed her brows, most likely noticing the professor's vexed expression. She seemed to have shrugged it off, though. "That's okay, professor. I hope I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, you too!" she agreed. Then, she remembered that she had to ask Touko and N something, something incredibly important to the case. Something only Touko and N would possibly know.

She was about to speak up when she noticed that Touko had already ended the call.

* * *

**A/N: I had no idea what to title this chapter, lol. :P**

**Just want to mention that there will be more Ferriswheelshipping moments throughout this story. Touko and N will play an important role near the end, but I haven't developed the plot enough, so for now, I'll just put occasional moments until they become important. But what do you think is the thing that only Touko and N know? I'd like to know your thoughts in your reviews! :D**


	9. Chapter 8: Reunited

**Chapter 8: Reunited**

* * *

_Saturday, 4:38 PM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

May and Misty made their way out of the SS Victoria, the ferry they had recently been on, and took in their surroundings. They were finally in Lilycove City, the location of the current Wallace Cup, and also the location which May, Misty, Leaf, and Dawn were assigned to. It had been quite a long trip from the Johto region, and the two girls were glad to finally be walking on land again.

Lilycove City wasn't a typical bustling metropolis; other than the towering skyscrapers that made up most of the place, it was also one of Hoenn's many port cities. In the southern area of the city, there was a good-sized dock which the SS Victoria had stopped at. Waves frequently crashed against a lighthouse, its flashing light not on at the moment, although it would once the sky became darker. A beach bordered the city in the east, inhabited by many young couples, children, parents, and groups of teenagers, playing in the sand, tanning under the sun, or swimming in the salty waters. A huge stadium colored in various shades of blue and decorated with cerulean-colored ribbon that draped around the building's circumference was situated in what seemed like the center of the city. May assumed that it was the location of the Wallace Cup competition.

The salty incense of the comforting sea breeze filled the brunette's lungs as she took a deep breath. May just wanted to relax on the beach and get away from reality, especially because of what she and the three other girls were going through right now. She wished that the case had never existed so that innocent girls' lives wouldn't be on the line and May wouldn't be worrying as much as she was. But she had no choice. Although it was unknown, there was a reason why she, along with Leaf, Misty, and Dawn, were chosen for this job. A job they had to finish fast.

"Well, I guess we can't really do anything until Leaf and Dawn get here," May pointed out, stating the obvious. Misty just nodded her head in agreement.

May and Misty, a bit unsure of what to do with their time until their comrades arrived, took a seat on the nearest bench from the dock. They sat there for a while, neither of them bothering to speak up and start a conversation, the quiet lapping of waves against the shore and the shouts of children from afar the only sounds in hearing distance of the two girls. The cloudless sky above them was as clear as the ocean water around them, bright sunlight streaming down onto the city.

After about fifteen minutes of sitting in silence, the sound of the foghorn of a ferry going off echoed throughout the air, catching the attention of both girls. Their gazes locked onto a ferry that had just docked as the captain announced their arrival. It wasn't long until everyone on board had filed out of the ferry. From the huge crowd, two people stood out from the rest, although May could only make out their heads. One was a cerulean-eyed blunette, the other a green-eyed brunette. May beamed once she had spotted them; there was no denying who they were.

"Dawn! Leaf!" May called out to them as she waved her hands, trying to grab their attention. "Over here!"

The two girls who had just arrived whipped their heads around, most likely trying to identify who had said their names. It was Dawn who had first made eye contact with May and Misty. A smile gracing her lips, the blunette tapped Leaf's shoulder and pointed in the direction of their two other friends. Leaf turned around and looked in the direction that Dawn was pointing in. Before Leaf could show any sort of reaction, Dawn immediately grabbed her arm and dragged her to May and Misty, running.

"Oh my Arceus, guys!" Dawn exclaimed as she and Leaf approached their friends. "I knew you guys would be here, but I'm still so happy to see the both of you anyways!"

"It's great to see you guys too!" Misty responded. "If only we weren't solving this case and we were hanging out instead…"

The four of them sighed at that thought. True, they all wished that they had never been kidnapped from the library in Jubilife City in the first place. After all, they may have been four teenage girls who held high statuses in the Pokémon world, but they were still teenagers. They just wanted to live a normal life where they would just be going to school, hanging out with each other, and doing other things that normal teenage girls did. All they wanted at the moment was a break. But they weren't going to hesitate and chicken out of this. They had a job to do, and before they could do anything else, the case had to be solved. And those four were the only ones who were able to do so.

"Well, anyways," May interrupted, breaking the awkward silence, "now that we're all here, what should we do now?"

Silence fell upon them again as they pondered over May's question. They had been assigned to go to Lilycove City due to the Wallace Cup going on, but now that they were actually there, they weren't sure of what to do.

"Can I ask something first?" Leaf started. She didn't bother to wait for anyone to answer her first question. "Why were we sent here in the first place?"

"Professor Birch said that he thinks the perpetrator is murdering girls in places where big things are going on," May replied. "There was supposed to be some sort of convention going on in Viridian City, Marina—"May mentally cringed when she had spoken her name—"was supposed to have some sort of performance in New Bark Town, and then the professor thought that Lilycove City would be a good place for our murderer to make his next move since the Wallace Cup is going on."

"Then why don't we go to wherever the Wallace Cup is taking place to investigate there?" Leaf suggested. "We don't really have many leads, so we might as well head over there. It's worth a shot."

The other three girls looked at each other, silently thinking about the darker brunette's offer. It was a logical thing to do, and they all knew that Leaf was the best decision maker and most intelligent out of their group of friends. Nothing could hurt if they made their way over to the stadium, right?

"It sounds good to me," Misty finally responded with a smile. "I mean, there's nothing better we can do anyways, so we could try that out." May and Dawn nodded in silent agreement.

"Great!" Leaf remarked. "We should probably head over there right now while there's still a bunch of people over there."

* * *

"Well, here we are," May stated as they approached the blue-clad stadium she had seen when she and Misty had first arrived in Lilycove City. Now that she was much closer to the Contest Hall, she could make out each and every little detail much more easily. The ceiling of the dome-shaped building was made of glass so sunlight could filter in, and so was the back half of the stadium, where the Appeal Rounds and Battle Rounds most likely took place, May assumed, giving that portion of the building a more modern and contemporary look. The front half of the building was the complete opposite. Made entirely of some sort of metal that was strong enough to hold up that section of the structure, the front was like any other Contest Hall: simple and versatile.

May pushed the door open for Leaf, Misty, and Dawn before walking in herself. The front lobby, decorated for the occasion, had cobalt-colored banners hanging from the walls, various kinds of Water-type Pokémon depicted on them. The tiled flooring was azure colored and a stuffed Psyduck sat lifelessly on the front counter. The receptionist wasn't there at the moment, probably in the stands, cheering on the Coordinators competing. In one of the corners of the lobby was a small flat screen television, broadcasting what was going on in the battlefield right now.

On the screen, a coral-haired girl in a stunning orange dress was standing on a podium in the center of the battlefield. Mr. Contesta was presenting what looked like the Aqua Ribbon, the Ribbon awarded to the winner of the Wallace Cup. The female Coordinator picked it up and smiled as her cerulean-colored orbs observed the Ribbon in her hands.

"Hey, May," Dawn piped up. "Isn't that your friend Solidad on the screen?"

May squinted at the screen, and once she had determined who the winner of the Wallace Cup was, she beamed. The blunette was right; it really was Solidad! "Yeah, you're right! Oh my Arceus… I didn't expect to see her here!" She turned to her three friends before asking, "Do you guys mind if we stay here for a little while so I can go see Solidad? It's been a long time since we've seen each other."

"Sure!" Misty agreed. "She's your friend, after all. Plus, we might as well stay here for a little while until it gets all crowded." She then looked around their surroundings, probably making sure that there was no one else around. Her voice level then dropped to an almost silent whisper. "It would be a good time for the perpetrator to strike once everyone's here in the lobby, so we'd better keep our eyes out for anything suspicious."

Before anyone could respond to what the redhead had said, the front doors of the building swung open and in came a small group of guys who were chatting amongst themselves. The girls swerved around and came face-to-face with them. As they did, May and Leaf narrowed their eyes at them, a huge grin was plastered on Dawn's face, and Misty raised an eyebrow. The expression on her face showed obvious confusion, but the smile that was tugging at the corners of her lips proved otherwise. Other than that one grasshead whom May was keeping her eye on, there were three other boys with him. When the grasshead's chartreuse-eyed gaze met hers, a smirk graced his lips and he flicked a tuft of hair away from his face.

"I didn't think I'd see you here, May," Drew drawled smugly, yet she could detect genuine delightedness evident in his voice and in his eyes. It was extremely faint, but she knew it was there. But what could he possibly be delighted about? "Did you find out that I was coming to Lilycove City and you were just dying to come see me?"

"Oh, shut up, Drew!" May snapped, storming up to him. "There's no way I'd ever be fangirling over you! Plus, I might as well ask you the same question."

"Hey, I'm just here to congratulate Solidad on her win," Drew answered, raising his hands in mock defeat. "I don't know what these guys are doing, but I'm pretty sure they came to see your friends here. I know Gary's just dying to kiss Leaf over there."

Gary winked in said brunette's direction. "Hey Leafy," he greeted flirtatiously. All she did in reply was sigh in aggravation at his annoying behavior and cross her arms, turning her back to him. Dawn gave Paul a wry look and grimaced, to which he didn't respond, his face as cold and emotionless as ever. All Ash did was approach Misty and give her a genuine smile, and she smiled back at him. They seemed like the only two in the group of boys and girls who were getting along, and that was a good thing. Sometimes, May wished that she and Drew could just get along all the time instead of fighting. But then again, Drew wouldn't be Drew if he weren't his cocky, arrogant self.

By now, crowds of people were already swarming into the front lobby of the Contest Hall, some staying around to hang out with friends while others were already leaving the building. Paparazzi and news reporters were rushing inside to interview the Coordinators to ask about how the Wallace Cup had went for them. When May finally noticed that people were already flooding the area, she started searching everywhere, hoping that she would find Solidad somewhere.

"Oh, I definitely didn't expect to see my two favorite little muffins here!"

May and Drew whirled around and found themselves face-to-face with a purple-haired man who seemed a few years older than the both of them, his wavy locks flowing down behind his back. There was a giddy yet mischievous look to his sky blue eyes as he ran up to the group of eight. He was dressed in a cotton white button-up shirt with a jade green tie around the collar, a pitch black tuxedo over it. His formal attire was completed with black slacks and patent leather dress shoes. Anyone could mistake him for being female by his long hair and the way he skipped over to them so girlishly, but both May and Drew knew better.

Following him from behind, the coral-haired girl who had received the Aqua Ribbon just a few minutes ago came up to May and Drew as well. Now that she was closer, the brunette was able to make out her dress much better. She looked even more beautiful in person than on a television screen. Her gorgeous, tangerine-colored dress was in a long, high-low style, which allowed the skirt portion that was made of gathered ruche to flare in the back. On top of that, the article of clothing was both strapless and had an empire waist, and all of the features was total sophistication. The way her hair was loosely curled and tied into a ponytail only added to the charm, her hair flowing down from her right shoulder.

"Harley! Solidad!" May ran up to her purple-haired rival and gave him a hug before giving Solidad her own hug as well. "It's so great to see you two!"

"Aw… it's so great to see you too, sweetie!" Harley squealed as he released Drew from an embrace.

Solidad chuckled and looked from Drew to May. "You both didn't have to come. But it's so nice that you did."

"Well…" May rubbed her neck, embarrassed, her cheeks burning a light pink. "I just got here a while ago, and I was only here to see you get your Ribbon. I missed the Appeal and Battle Rounds."

"That's okay, May," Solidad said, waving it off. "Anyways, are all those friends of yours and Drew's?" she asked, gesturing to the other six behind them.

"Yep!" May replied, nodding. She then introduced Harley and Solidad to Leaf, Misty, Dawn, Gary, and Paul. Ash greeted them both warmly, telling them about how great it was to see them again, just as May had.

"So how long are you staying at Lilycove City?" inquired Solidad.

"I'm actually not sure…" May responded, unsure of herself. "But the girls and I'll probably leave some time tomorrow…"

"Great! So that means you guys can stay for the after-party!"

"The after-party?" the eight of them but Paul echoed.

"Yeah, all you munchkins are invited!" Harley inserted. "It'll be fun! It'll be a nice thing to do before you all leave."

May looked to her friends. She didn't see the problem in coming to the Contest after-party. In fact, she wanted to. It would be the best time for the perpetrator to make a move, and this way, she and the girls would be there to discover the person's identity. There couldn't be any more deaths. She absolutely refused to let any more happen. It pained the brunette to know that an innocent person had died, whether she knew him or her or not.

Plus, she just wanted some time to enjoy herself after all the stress she had been going through. And she was pretty sure that Leaf, Misty, and Dawn felt the same way.

"We'd love to go!" May replied, not bothering to ask her friends for permission first. She was pretty sure that they wanted to go as well, so she didn't bother to. And although Paul probably didn't find this very exciting, she didn't think that he would care.

"Yay! The more the merrier!" Harley crowed with delight. "This will be so much fun!"

"And one more thing…" Solidad trailed off for a moment before she continued. "Misty, would you mind if you did a water appeal at the after-party tonight? You're a Water-type Gym Leader, and the Wallace Cup is known for Coordinators using their Water-type Pokémon, so I think it would be nice for you to perform tonight. Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm pretty sure everyone would love to see you do something. I know that this is so sudden–trust me; this idea just occurred to me right this moment–but do you think you could do this? I'm pretty sure everyone will certainly enjoy it."

Surprise was obvious in the redhead's expression. May didn't expect Solidad to be asking for such a thing, and she was sure Misty felt the same way. The brunette liked the idea of her friend doing a water appeal tonight, but would she have enough time to come up with a combination or two in only a few hours? She wasn't a Coordinator, after all; this would definitely be a challenge for her.

But Misty only grinned at this offer and nodded her head with fervor. "Sounds good, Solidad. But I'm gonna need your help if I'm gonna do this, you know."

Solidad let out a light chuckle. "Don't worry, Misty. I was planning to help you out with your appeal anyways." She sighed before continuing on. "Well, I suggest you girls find something to wear for tonight. You can't just come to a Contest after-party without dressing nicely. There's a nice clothing boutique downtown that might have something you might like. I'll take you all down there after I'm done helping out Misty. Sound good?" The four girls nodded, a smile forming on the pink-haired girl's lips.

"Hey, why don't we go book a room in the Pokémon Center?" May suddenly suggested. "We're gonna stay here for the night, and we need somewhere to stay, right?"

"Mhmm! You guys can book a room there while I help Misty. And I'll just find you guys once we're done." Solidad straightened out her dress as the girls waved to her and left for the Pokémon Center. May was stopped when she felt someone's hand gripping gently onto her shoulder. She cocked her head to the side, only to find out that it was Solidad. She raised a curious eyebrow at her. Was there something Solidad needed to tell her? "May, you're not going to go with Leaf, Misty, and Dawn to the shop. I already have a dress that I think would be perfect for you… considering what'll happen tonight." She winked at the brunette, but it only confused May even further.

Why was she insisting that May should use one of Solidad's own dresses instead of buying one for herself? It wasn't that she was beginning to suspect her rival of something, but it was strange, she had to admit. It was a kind gesture, but it wouldn't have hurt if she spent her own money on a dress.

May decided to push that thought away. Why should it be bugging her? Solidad was her friend, after all.

* * *

Solidad was right outside the Contest Hall, waiting for Misty to return with the two Pokémon she planned to use for the appeal. She had run off to the Pokémon Center just a couple minutes after May, Leaf, and Dawn had made their way over there. Solidad and Misty had been brainstorming ideas for possible combinations, and once they had settled on something, she had decided on what Pokémon she would be using.

She was snapped out of her daze when she heard someone say her name.

"Solidad…" a husky voice muttered from behind her. She swiveled her head around and found herself face-to-face with Drew, who was leaning against the stadium building on his side, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"What's up?" she asked him.

He sighed, shaking his head in frustration. "I'm not sure if your idea's gonna work out… I'm starting to doubt it will."

His words definitely surprised Solidad. "But why? You were so excited to do this just a week ago when I called you over the PokéNav. What changed your mind?"

"Honestly, I don't know…" Drew admitted, shrugging. "I guess I'm just uncomfortable because I'm not totally sure of how she feels about me. What if she doesn't feel the same way? Then I'm just gonna make a total fool out of myself. I'm just not sure if this is gonna work."

"Drew, you have to believe in yourself if you ever want her to have feelings for you back. If I were you, I would go along with our plan anyways," Solidad advised. "The worst thing that can happen is rejection. And I'm pretty sure you're strong enough to deal with that."

"I guess so…" He sighed once again before smiling. It was too obvious that the smile was forced, but he was trying. Solidad was glad that he was doing that. "I'll give it a shot."

"And maybe you could express your feelings indirectly, so it wouldn't be as awkward, you know?" suggested Solidad, hoping that she could try to make him even more comfortable for the after-party.

"That was what I was planning on doing," he said, walking by her. He froze in his spot for a moment before turning around and facing her again. "Oh, and Solidad? You're an amazing friend. I… I just wanted to let you know. You've been one of the greatest people in my life."

Solidad beamed. Although it definitely didn't seem like Drew to say such a thing, his compliment filled her with such gratitude and bliss. She knew that she was a sort of older sister figure to Drew, but she didn't expect herself to mean so much to him. It warmed her heart to know that she was such an important person in his life.

"Thank you, Drew," she responded. Her eyes were alight with genuine happiness. As he stalked away, Solidad was a bit tempted to rush up to him and hold him in an embrace.

But she thought that it would be better to do that tonight. At the after-party.

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my awesome friend and fellow author PrincessVictory. Thank you so much for beta-reading this for me! :D By the way, if you haven't, check out our collaboration we're working on, Finding My Way. It's a dual Poké/Contest fic with some Leafgreen in it. If you're interested, it's on our joint account, VideoGamePrincess. x)**

I bet you guys can all guess what Drew is talking about. But what the plan is, that won't be revealed until chapter 10. ;)

I apologize for the short chapter, especially since this was another filler. I promise that next chapter will be much longer!

And I plan on having Solidad's dress up on my Photobucket account soon. I hope you check it out!

Drop a review on the way out, please!


	10. Chapter 9: The Water Appeal

**Chapter 9: The Water Appeal**

* * *

_Saturday, 6:31 PM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

"Are you sure that Drew's confession will actually work out?"

Solidad whipped her head around and found Harley standing right behind her. He took a seat on the wooden bench beside her and positioned his right leg over his left one. She wanted to ask him how he could possibly have found out about it, but she decided to ignore her curiosity for now. "I mean, I highly doubt May will actually understand what Drew's trying to imply when it's time for him to do it. The poor girl's so oblivious to his feelings; I'm almost certain that this whole plan you and Drew have been talking about for who knows how long will be a complete waste."

Solidad remained calm, her body showing no signs of stiffening or tensing. "Harley, you're underestimating her. I do agree that she isn't as observant as most people are, but she isn't the same ten-year-old we met six years ago. By now, May has to have matured, at least by a little bit."

"But what if she hasn't?" Harley refuted. "I know I only got to see her for, I don't know, four or five minutes or so after you got the Ribbon, but she seems the same to me." He shrugged coolly. "I'm just saying."

"Exactly. We only had the time to see her for a few minutes. We haven't been with her long enough to notice anything different about her." Solidad took out the scrunchie in her hair and let her coral locks tumble elegantly down her back. A light breeze blew her curled hair back in the crisp evening air, and she took note of how nice it felt for her hair to tickle her back, something she realized she had missed. "I still hope for the best for Drew, though. He's been waiting for the day when he can finally confess to her, and hopefully it'll work out."

Harley rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever," he muttered under his breath. "That kid must really mean a lot to you if you're being that insistent on helping him out. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being an epic fail."

"Of course he does," said Solidad. A smile graced her lips. "He's like a little brother to me."

"Oh, of course he is," Harley drawled sardonically. He leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. "I know _exactly_ what you mean. You really don't have to remind me. I'm getting bored of that story."

It was still fresh in her mind despite the fact that it had happened six years ago. Maybe that was because of how significant it was for not just Drew, but herself as well. She could definitely say that it was one of the most life-changing moments in her life. Maybe that was why the memory always felt like it had happened just yesterday. But it wasn't like it really mattered why exactly it was so important.

It had occurred right after a Contest Solidad had participated in that had been held in LaRousse City. She had won the Ribbon, but she admitted that the opponent she had faced in the final round was quite the challenge. They had been neck and neck with each other for the entire five minutes, but in the end, Solidad had won by only a smidgeon. Not only was his Pokémon incredibly graceful and agile in battle, but his combinations were outstanding, wowing both the audience and the judges. In all honesty, she had been somewhat surprised that she had been crowned the winner of that Contest.

* * *

_She was walking out of the LaRousse City Contest Hall after being awarded her Ribbon when she spotted a mop of green hair in the corner of her eye. She turned around to figure out to whom the green hair belonged and found a young boy huddled into a ball, his back leaning against the wall of the Contest Hall, his face low and hidden in his arms. Solidad was slightly intrigued about what was going on, so she decided to approach the boy and figure out what was troubling him._

_"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked soothingly, kneeling on the ground for her face to be level with his._

_He didn't give a response. Solidad could hear muffled sniffling coming from him, concerning her even more. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and knitted her brows together. There was definitely something up, but she didn't want to force it out of him. She stood up to leave and said, "That's okay. If you don't wanna tell me—"_

_As she spoke, the boy lifted his head up and met Solidad's gaze. Said girl had to hold back a gasp._

_He had been crying. The trails the tears had made on his cheeks were still visible, and his long black sleeves were damp. The whites of his eyes were streaked with red, his emerald green orbs standing out from the rest of his features. After scrutinizing her for some time, recognition lit up on his face. But the fact that the remains of tears were evident wasn't what startled her._

_He was Solidad's final round opponent._

_They remained silent for some time, the both of them eyeing the other warily. Solidad wanted to speak up, but her lips couldn't form words. But that was probably because she didn't even have a vague idea of what to say._

_Finally, she cleared her throat, retaining her perfect posture. "You're Drew, right?" she began, unsure of where this conversation was going. "Drew Hayden?"_

_Drew nodded slowly. He seemed to hesitate before saying, "Solidad Saori?"_

_A smile formed on her lips. "Yeah," she replied. "You know, Drew, you did very well against me. You should be proud of yourself."_

_He scoffed, but the hopelessness in his eyes didn't go away. "Whatever. That's only what you think. I'm no good at Contests; I'll never be a good Coordinator." At that, a frown appeared on his face._

_"Stop discouraging yourself; it'll just lower your self-esteem and make this even worse for you." Her voice was kind, gentle, but there was a hint of seriousness in it._

_"That's what you think," Drew muttered, wiping away his tearstains. "I'll never be as good as you."_

_Solidad couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was sounding and acting just like a newbie, which he obviously wasn't. He was incredibly talented, and she couldn't believe he was doubting himself. She had to change this somehow. "This wasn't the first Contest you've participated in, right?"_

_"Actually, it was."_

_Solidad's eyes widened. No wonder why he was acting so amateurish about his loss: he actually was a beginner. Still, he was so extraordinary at Coordinating that she almost couldn't believe that this was his very first Contest. "You've got to be kidding, right?" she asked incredulously, to which he responded with a nod. "Drew, I… I'm speechless. If this is your first Contest, then I'm thoroughly impressed. I've never seen a Coordinator do this well at their first Contest. And I'm not saying this just to make you happy. I'm being completely honest."_

_Drew raised a brow at the coral-haired girl. "I think you're the one who's kidding."_

_"I'm being serious here: you've got a knack for this, and you shouldn't let one loss let you down," Solidad advised. "Everyone experiences a loss at least once in their life. It's not a big deal. Look at the bright side, Drew: a loss just means you have some space to improve, learn, and become better. Who knows? Maybe you'll be just as good at Coordinating as I am someday."_

_No one spoke for a while, and the only sounds came from distant Hoothoot and Noctowl. Finally, Solidad said, "Do you want to get something to eat before the after-party tonight? I can teach you a thing or two that could help you at your next Contest."_

_For the first time since she had met him, Drew smiled. He really, truly smiled. "Sure, Solidad," he eagerly responded, getting himself off of the ground._

_Solidad beamed in return, satisfied with his answer._

_It was the beginning of her and Drew's friendship._

* * *

"Solidad!" snapped Harley.

She almost jumped in her seat at the sound of his voice. She glanced over at the purple-haired man sitting next to her. "Yes, what is it?"

He sighed. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while. Were you thinking of Drew again? Wait, never mind. Why am I even asking? Of course you were." He waved a hand at her, dismissing the matter. "Anyway, where's that redhead, um… what was her name again? Wasn't it Millie?"

"Misty," Solidad inserted for him.

"Yeah, her," Harley said, seeming to not give a care about her name. "Where is she? Isn't she supposed to be training or something for that appeal you 'claimed' to have come up with right on the spot? Ha! Like you did."

"How can you tell that I was lying when I said that?" she inquired, genuinely interested. "No one else seemed to catch onto that." She hesitated for a moment. "And she's at the Pokémon Center, getting ready."

"Because I've been eavesdropping on your calls with him," Harley answered nonchalantly. Solidad opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. "That's how I found out about this plan in the first place. How Drew actually knew that May, Misty, Dawn, and Leaf were gonna come confuses me, though. But it's not like it really matters."

Solidad wasn't too surprised that Harley had been listening to her talks with Drew over the PokéNav—it was probably because he was always somewhere near her while she and Drew were chatting; it made perfect sense, since the two were currently traveling together in the Hoenn region—but Harley had made a good point: how could Drew have possibly known that the four girls were eventually coming to the Wallace Cup?

She pushed the matter into the back of her mind. _May probably told him,_ she concluded. Still, a part of her couldn't help but feel suspicious…

What she had wanted to say now forgotten, Solidad decided to change the topic so she wouldn't be mulling over Drew so much. Maybe Harley was right when he said that she cared about him too much. "Harley, how long are we going to keep this a secret? There's already so much gossip about it that's giving us a lot of unneeded publicity, and the press has been interrogating the both of us about it frequently. Everyone's bound to find out soon."

Luckily, he knew exactly what she was talking about. "Solidad, of course they are. They always have their ways of finding things out. It's only a matter of time before they do."

"Yeah," she started, "but we might as well tell them soon. We probably shouldn't have kept it a secret for all this time; it's hard to keep up this burden, as I'm sure you know."

"But we'd just get even more unneeded publicity if we tell the world about… us," Harley pointed out, stressing the last word. "That's why we decided to keep it a secret in the first place."

They sat in silence for a while, staring at the sky. The sun was just barely touching the horizon, a spectrum of reds and oranges filling the sky with color. The few clouds in the distance were lavender, adding in some variety to the scenery. The wind suddenly picked up. Solidad shivered and rubbed her arms to provide herself warmth.

Catching Solidad off guard, Harley hesitantly reached for her hand and took it in his. Solidad eyed him curiously, subconsciously blushing. She couldn't figure out exactly what she was feeling, but this sensation made her feel uncomfortable, yet it felt right. It was like Butterfree were fluttering inside of her, causing her stomach to lurch.

"We'll tell them someday," Harley reassured.

Solidad beamed.

* * *

_Saturday, 7:45 PM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

"So… what do you guys think?" Misty asked as she stepped out of the bathroom of the Pokémon Center room her friends had booked. She scratched the back of her head nervously and forced out a laugh. Misty nodded her head in May's direction, signalling to her that she could go in and change now. As she made her way in, the brunette couldn't help but quickly admire her friend's gorgeous appearance.

The redhead observed her friends' expressions. Each one of them had their mouths wide open. She could tell that they were speechless.

"I hope I don't look too over-the-top…" Misty mumbled as she became even more antsy with each passing second.

"Misty, you look absolutely beautiful!" Dawn squealed, her sapphire eyes shining with excitement. "You're, like, perfect!"

"Aw, come on, Dawn," said Misty, waving her comments off. "I don't look that great."

"Stop being modest. I'm not kidding when I say you look amazing," Leaf offered, smiling brightly.

Misty looked down, taking in every detail of her dress. The strapless ong dress was made of a chiffon material, its color a light blue to go with the water theme. The dress's skirt was ruched, flowing down until it touched the ground, which made it drag along the floor when she walked. Above the empire waist of the dress, the bust was decorated with sparkly beads that reflected the light, giving it an alluring look to it. Her ginger hair was swept to the left and curled in order to give her an elegant vibe, which made her look like she had just walked out of water, her hair damp and falling to her side.

Blue eye shadow dusted her eyelids, and her lipstick was a deep red color that looked enchanting and magical to the eye. Mascara and eyeliner had been put on to bolden her emerald green eyes. Blush was spread across her cheeks to make her features seem natural. Because the skirt was long enough to cover the entirety of her legs and no one would pay any mind to her shoes, she had decided on a simple pair of blue flats. Dawn had insisted on Misty buying heels while they were shopping at the store Solidad had suggested for them, but the redhead absolutely refused to use them. There was no point in using such uncomfortable shoes if there was no point in them in the first place.

To put it simply, she was the perfect portrayal of a magnificent water princess who had just come out of the ocean.

"Well, you two look stunning yourselves," Misty remarked, trying to get the attention off of her.

"There's no way we actually look as good as you," Leaf began, blushing, "but thanks, I guess."

Misty inspected said brunette's dress first. The first word that came to her mind after taking a good look at it was sexy. It was a silver strapless short A-line dress that ended about half a foot above her knees, revealing almost all of her toned, athletic legs. The skirt portion of the dress was ruffled and the waist was tied with a silver ribbon, only adding in even more attractiveness to Leaf's figure. The straight across top went up until it was only just above the breasts, which Misty was sure would immediately grab the attention of many guys (Gary in particular). Her hair was loosely curled and blown back, her black strappy heels only helping out even more, giving the brunette a sort of bad girl look, which only added onto her sexy appearance.

Misty then moved on to Dawn's dress. The blunette seemed to have taken a more cute approach with her style, which wasn't entirely a surprise. It was a pink strapless long dress made of tulle in a high-low design. The skirt was short in the front but flowed down to the ground in the back, and the fabric swirled aesthetically to create an entrancing effect. A sequin mesh was adorned on the bust and the left side of the dress's empire waist. Her blue hair was done into wavy locks that went perfectly with her dress.

"Seriously, you guys look awesome," Misty praised again after taking in Leaf and Dawn's ensembles. "You guys probably look even better than me."

"Um… do I look okay?" a new voice piped up. "This really isn't my style, but Solidad made me wear this anyway."

Misty, Leaf, and Dawn flipped around, their jaws dropping as a goddess-like brunette exited the bathroom, a shy smile plastered on her face, her sapphire orbs filled with insecurity. Blushing, May said, "I look horrible, don't I?"

Misty opened her mouth to disagree, but she was struck speechless with May's look. It was an orange one-shoulder dress with a sweetheart neckline that exposed the smallest bit of her bosom, leaving the rest to one's imagination. The dress was made of two layers, each of a different fabric: the uppermost layer made up the majority of the article of clothing and was a sheer chiffon, while the bottom layer, which was only shown through the upper layer's side split right below the rhinestone-encrusted waist, was a shiny satin that easily stood out. The strap of fabric that made up the right shoulder was decorated with rhinestones as well.

The silver earrings she had on were designed to look like three teardrops falling from her ears, dangling and shaking with each movement of her head. Her nude peep toe heels went well with her outfit, adding in a touch of simplicity. Her hair fell down behind her back in loose curls rather than keeping it in her usual gravity-defying hairstyle; it was a nice change, especially now, for she appeared calm and graceful in that fashion. Her lashes were longer, probably because of mascara, and dark blue eye shadow was applied onto her eyelids, going nicely with her sapphire eyes. Her lip gloss was a light pink, making her lips seem softer and prettier than they usually were.

"If you actually think you look horrible, then something's so wrong with you," Misty commented in awe, looking the brunette up and down. A huge smile was etched on the redhead's face. "You look absolutely _perfect_."

"Oh my Arceus, May! You look fabulous!" Dawn exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

"Totally!" agreed Leaf, beaming widely. Her voice lowered before saying, "I'm sure Drew will love that." Her grin was quickly replaced by a confident smirk.

"What did you say about Drew?" May inquired, perking a brow.

"Nothing," Leaf lied. "Pretend I never said anything." May still seemed inquisitive about the matter, but she kept quiet.

"Is everybody ready?" Solidad asked as she opened the door to the room and strode in. She sported a black one-shoulder ong dress that split at the side, exposing her left leg entirely. The see-through sleeve that ran down her left arm ended at her wrist and draped down, embellished with glitter and sequins that enhanced the sophistication of the ensemble. Her hair maintained the loose curls she had had that afternoon, although it fell behind her back rather than styled into a ponytail.

She surveyed the room before focusing her gaze on Misty. "I'll take Misty there early so she can get ready for her performance. May, Leaf, Dawn, make sure to get there by eight thirty when the after-party starts." A smile graced Solidad's lips. "I hope all of you have fun tonight."

* * *

_Saturday, 8:30 PM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

Dawn set foot into the Lilycove Contest Hall with May and Leaf trailing behind her. She examined the entire front lobby, which seemed to have been transformed into a makeshift club. Many of the Wallace Cup contestants were on the dance floor and swaying to the upbeat music booming from the speakers. Strobe lights emitting various fluorescent, neon colors provided light, but it still seemed dim enough to provide the feel of being in a nightclub. Tables laden with an assortment of delicacies made up the perimeter of the room. The wall blocking the stadium from the front lobby had been removed, and the blunette presumed that Misty would be performing her appeal in the water field.

May whistled, impressed by the new design of the Contest Hall. "This is awesome. I've never seen a Contest after-party as cool as this one."

"This is probably even better than one you'd find at a Grand Festival," Dawn added, admiring the décor.

"I've never been to a Contest after-party, but this looks great," Leaf opined.

"Hey, we've been looking for you guys!"

Dawn's eyes flicked over toward the direction of the voice and identified it as Ash's. Her spirits brightened up at the sight of the four familiar male teens drawing nearer to her, Leaf, and May, but she kept her face stoic. She waved them over, catching the onyx-colored eyes of Paul and flashing a half-smile at him. He didn't react in any way to her attempt at being kind, which Dawn frowned upon. She wished that he could just open up to someone, anyone; she had a feeling that behind his bitter and sour personality, there lay a benevolent, tenderhearted person. He just refused to show that side of him. Sure, there had been a few moments when he'd been aberrantly caring, especially while they were in Viridian City, but Dawn wanted to see that side of him more often. It strangely pleased her to see him being more outgoing than he typically was.

"Hey, Paul," Dawn greeted. She was so desperate to see him genuinely happy by this point, yet he only grunted in response and gave her a once-over. She barely noticed him looking at her just a second too much, but she disregarded the thought that he possibly could've. He was such an introvert; there wasn't a chance that he'd actually pay any attention to her.

Dawn sighed in frustration. She wondered why Paul was constantly on her mind and bugging her. It wasn't like she actually cared if he ever gave her the respect she desired… right?

Ash scanned the area, his chocolate brown eyes wandering around the room. "Where's Misty?" he asked, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"She's backstage with Solidad, getting ready for her performance," Dawn replied. A smug expression appeared on her face. "I know you'll be really looking forward to it."

"Of course I will!" Ash cried out, grinning childishly. "Misty's my best friend, so I'll always be there to support her when I can!"

Dawn, May, and Leaf facepalmed. Drew and Gary shook their heads. Even Paul rolled his eyes. Ash was so oblivious that it was getting tiresome with how he could never realize the redhead's feelings for him.

"Anyways…" Drew came face-to-face with May. "You excited for tonight, June?"

"My name's not June," she grumbled, giving the grasshead a narrowed-eyed look. Her face then lit up with jubilance. "But yeah, I am. This is awesome!"

A satiate smile formed on his face. "Well then, I hope you're excited for tonight. I know I am."

"You're excited for tonight, too, right?" Gary neared Leaf with his hands in the pockets of his black slacks. Surprisingly, his tone didn't sound like he was flirting, but it sounded like he was actually caring. Actually, genuinely caring. "Trust me: I won't even try to touch you tonight if it means you'll have fun."

Leaf raised a defying brow at him. "You're actually not gonna try to kiss me tonight? I'm pretty surprised, since we've got a bet on the line."

"Bet? What bet?" May chimed in, puzzled. "I don't think anyone told me about this."

"Leaf and Gary made a bet that if Gary kisses Leaf by the end of the month, Leaf owes her money. If he doesn't, Gary does." All eyes turned to Dawn. She stared back at them, unfazed. "That's the short story, at least."

"What's the point of it?" Drew sighed exasperatedly. "We all know Gary's gonna win."

"He is _not_!" protested Leaf, immediately outraged. "Do you even think I'd let him? I'd probably realize that he was trying to before he even tries to start."

"Leaf, we've already proved that wrong," Gary pointed out. "Should I remind you, or do you need a refresher?" He ran a hand through his spiky auburn locks and half-smiled, trying to look as flirtatious as possible. And then, as if he had just looked at her the first time that night, his eyes widened as he trailed his eyes up and down her body.

Dawn smirked. Gary Oak was obviously in love with her.

"That's unnecessary," Leaf muttered as she crossed her arms and turned her back to him. Dawn made note of the brunet's black eyes lingering on the back of her dress, which was tied with lace that was made into a pattern that showed off a small portion of her back until the lace reached her bottom, where it ended to conceal what needed to be hidden. Dawn could tell by the look in Gary's eyes that he wanted her—really wanted her, in fact.

Yet she could tell that her looks wasn't all to it. Maybe this time, he wasn't just infatuated with a girl for how she appeared, but a combination of that and her personality. Dawn smiled. Leaf perfectly fit that. She had a hunch that she and Gary were really meant to be.

Suddenly, a high-pitched noise resounded, the shrillness echoing in Dawn's ears and leaving a resonant ringing in her head. The blunette clamped her ears shut, but it was still audible to her. Almost everyone else in the room was doing the same thing as well, Dawn noticed.

Once the ringing had died down, Dawn's arms fell back to her sides, her ears finally relieved. She found Mr. Contesta standing near a podium in the front, testing a microphone, and she surmised the noise had come from the mic. He put on a wide grin and looked out to the audience, whose attention had been piqued from the racket he had caused. "Sorry about that, folks," he apologized. "Just trying to get the mic to cooperate."

He cleared his throat before he began in a loud, clear voice, "Welcome to this year's Wallace Cup after-party, everyone! Thank you to all the Coordinators who participated in this event! We would never have been able to hold it without you all. We had another enjoyable year of appeals, battles, and performances from Coordinators coming from not just the Hoenn region, but Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Unova as well. Please give all of our Coordinators a round of applause for their hard work and effort."

Clapping filled the room along with whistles and shouts of approval. Once all the cheering died down, Mr. Contesta spoke up once again. "Tonight, I want to recognize one certain Coordinator who did an exceptional job throughout the duration of the Wallace Cup. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up to our Wallace Cup winner, Solidad Saori!"

Everyone applauded as Solidad made her way to the front of the room. Mr. Contesta stepped away from the podium to allow Solidad to give her own speech. She stood tall as she adjusted the mic for it to suit her height. "Thank you, thank you," she said in an attempt to shush the crowd. Everyone quieted down, permitting the pink-haired girl to start. "First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout the Wallace Cup. I'd especially like to mention my parents back in Pewter City, who have been with me through my whole Coordinating career; Drew and May, who have been some of the greatest and most inspirational friends I could ever ask for; and Harley, my childhood friend and traveling companion. I couldn't have done this without you guys.

"Coordinating has been my passion ever since I first stepped foot on my journey when I just turned ten. I still remember that day twelve years ago when my father gave me my first Pokémon, a Slowpoke. I was very happy. I didn't care what Pokémon I received as long as I had one. And I was ecstatic to have gotten a Slowpoke, which has up to this day been my most beloved Pokémon."

She paused for a moment as a dreamy, reminiscent smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Anyways, I could literally go on and on, but I'd rather just cut to the chase. I have two performances prepared for you tonight that will be performed by some special guests. First, please give it up for Cerulean City Gym Leader, Misty Waterflower!"

Solidad stepped away from the podium as all the lights went out and a figure emerged from the far end of the stadium, her fiery red hair the only thing catching the faint light from the spotlight. Her figure became more visible with each step she took until she was finally standing directly below the bright light. The audience erupted into screams of delight as Misty waved her hand to the crowd, an entrancing smile on her face. She held two Poké Balls up, one in each hand. The cheering was immediately put to an end as they eagerly awaited the Water-type Gym Leader's next move.

"Corsola and Staryu, I choose you!"

Misty hurled the two Poké Balls, releasing said Pokémon. As they soared through the air, bubbles swirled like a whirlpool right behind them, each one of them popping and turning into tiny raindrops that sparkled and fell as Corsola splashed into the water and Staryu landed on the nearest platform.

"Staryu, jump up and use Rapid Spin! Corsola, use Bubblebeam on Staryu!"

Staryu leaped and spun at a blistering speed. It hovered in the air for a moment, and when its strength to stay up was dwindling, it slowly began to fall. Corsola formed a blue ball in its mouth and launched a stream of bubbles from the orb to the Star Shape Pokémon, preventing it from cannonballing into the water.

"Staryu, use Swift and aim up!"

The gem in its center glowed and fired multiple white stars, aiming it up while still gyrating from the Rapid Spin. The stars barely grazed the ceiling before they descended and spiraled down around Staryu and the Bubblebeam before sloshing into the water.

Dawn peered over the shoulder of the person who was standing in front of her and was astonished at what she saw, taking a closer look this time and staring wide eyed. The stars were in a perfect circle around Corsola, gliding gracefully around the Coral Pokémon. The blunette couldn't even make out what Misty commanded next, for she was in awe; it was such a great combo.

Staryu bounced off of the Bubblebeam just as Corsola cut off the attack. The latter submerged into the water as the former landed in the center of the circle, rotating in its spot along with the stars around it. Suddenly, a rainbow glow emanated below Staryu, the light spilling from in between its five arms. It almost looked like Staryu was the one creating illumination, but from all of Dawn's years of being a Coordinator, she knew that it was actually Corsola who produced it, probably with a Recover.

"Corsola, finish it off with Tackle while Staryu uses Water Gun!" Misty instructed.

Corsola tackled Staryu, chucking it up as the star-shaped Pokémon unleashed a spiral of water from all five of its limbs at once. The water was made to look like a fountain was spraying out water, which was easily accomplished. A few drops sprinkled on the audience, a couple of them hitting Dawn. She shielded herself from any other droplets that were striking her. When she put her arm down to see the stadium again, Staryu and Corsola were standing at Misty's sides, the redhead's arms raised up. The crowd applauded and cheered for her performance, Misty smiling with glee.

"That was really good! And she only had about two hours to practice!" Dawn exclaimed. She was thoroughly impressed with Misty's performance; every move and every detail of it was clearly perfected (probably with the help of Solidad), and she could easily say that she enjoyed it.

"I guess that was decent," someone next to her said. Dawn cocked her head to the side and found herself staring at Paul. He turned his head as well and stared into the blunette's sapphire orbs. She could literally feel her heart skipping a beat at the sight of his steel cold black eyes. But this time, there was a rare sparkle in his eyes that Dawn only sparingly saw. "I'm pretty sure that's only half as good as what you can do, though."

She gawked at him, her mouth parting slightly in shock. Was Paul actually complimenting her on her Coordinating skills?

"Why do you think so?" was all Dawn could muster up to say.

"Because you're a Coordinator and she's not," he stated simply. "It's pretty obvious. But take it as a good thing if you want."

Dawn was certain she was dreaming. There was no way he'd actually be this considerate around her, right? This was Paul, for Arceus's sake. He couldn't possibly say anything like this, especially to her.

"Misty was so pretty tonight," Ash marveled as the redhead walked offstage. "And her Pokémon were amazing. She was amazing."

Dawn swiveled her head around to face the raven-haired boy. There was an affectionate glint in his eyes, and his cheeks burned a dark shade of red. Dawn smirked. Maybe he wasn't as ignorant as she thought he was. Maybe he and Misty had a chance.

Dawn sighed to herself at that thought. She realized that there really wasn't a guy in her life whom she was attracted to. Sure, she had Kenny, her childhood and best friend, but she had turned him down when he asked her out two years ago. Despite how close they were, she just couldn't imagine herself going out with him; he was like an older brother to her, even though they were the same age, and she planned on keeping their relationship that way. Even Barry was a possibility, but he was too hyper for her taste.

Dawn turned to once again face Paul, whose attention was no longer on her. He was most likely not a possibility. She didn't have a vague idea why he had even crossed her mind.

Disrupting her from her thoughts, Solidad was standing near the podium once again. "I hope everyone enjoyed Misty's performance. Let's give her another round of applause for the stunning show she put on for us." She was applauded for what seemed like the millionth time that night, some people letting out whoops and wolf whistles. "Now, I want to announce our next performers, who are two of my good friends. They won't be performing an appeal, but I'm certain that you'll love every bit of it."

"What the—" Dawn whipped her head around several times, trying to identify the voice. She then saw May being ushered by Harley to the front of the room along with Drew. The grasshead seemed awfully calm about this, but the brunette seemed to be panicking; the look on her face proved it.

Harley pushed them forward, causing the both of them to stumble and almost trip. Solidad grinned, and Dawn could even detect a possible smugness and mischievousness in her eyes that was well hidden as she said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for our next performers, May Maple and Drew Hayden!"

* * *

**Sorry for not updating last week, guys. I was busy working on my latest Leafgreenshipping one-shot, "Just Give Me A Reason" (check it out and leave a review, perhaps?) and I didn't have time to write this chapter. Plus, this chapter would've been more appropriate to post this weekend since it was Ikarishipping Day two days ago (hence the reason for all the Ikarishippy). I hope you liked it. :)**

**I hope you didn't think Solidad was OOC in the beginning. I just wanted to show that she isn't a Mary Sue like most people portray her as and she has a vulnerable side.**

**Before I go, I'd like to make an announcement (it's good news, mind you): I have been trying to update this every other week, but I've been beginning to feel like that updating schedule is too slow for you guys. (Plus, I really want to start on my other story ideas.) So from now on, I'll try to do weekly updates. I hope you guys will like it that way. ;)**

**Anyways, drop a review on your way out, please! Reviews are so greatly appreciated. :D**

**And happy birthday, Sarah! I hope you have a great day today! This chapter is my present to you! xD**


	11. Chapter 10: The Things Love Can Do

**Chapter 10: The Things Love Can Do**

* * *

_Saturday, 8:57 PM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

May's jaw fell slack as her knees seemed to be on the verge of collapsing; he could tell by the way they were wobbling and trembling under the spotlight. She was giving the audience a wide-eyed, horrified stare as the cheering and applause was dying down. Everyone was giving her eager, excited looks while she returned an expression of pure befuddlement and terror.

Drew smirked. Oh, he knew he was taking advantage of her shock and fright for his own delight. Their performance hadn't even begun, yet he was already having quite the time just mentally laughing at how nonplussed she was.

Immediately, her head swiveled to the side as she faced Drew, her eyes clouded with insecurity and frustration. "What's going on?"

He flicked a tuft of green hair. "We're singing together," he stated simply. "It'll be a good experience for the both of us while we're here, April."

"What? No one told me that we're singing together!" she hissed, her voice austere. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Surprising you is fun," Drew answered smugly, shrugging. "We've been planning this for a couple weeks now, so if you want to murder whoever set you up because you hate this whole thing, blame me and Solidad."

"Solidad was part of this too?" May squalled. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're dead once this is over."

"What about Solidad?" Drew questioned inquisitively. "Aren't you going to kill her too?"

"Solidad's my friend, so I'm sparing her," she harrumphed as she crossed her arms and turned her back to him. "I'm doing this anyway just to get this over with since you kinda forced me into this and for your and Solidad's sakes."

He simpered in satisfaction. "Thank you, May. I'm absolutely gratified to share this wonderful performance with you. I only wish that you don't end up murdering me, but I still hope you have a great time."

"A great waste of time," she growled, rolling her eyes. "And I'm still gonna kill you. What song are we even singing?"

Before Drew could respond, Solidad sauntered up to them and handed them both a microphone, an enthusiastic smile plastered on her face. "May, did Drew tell you what song you guys are singing? I wouldn't want either of you to be unprepared."

"Not yet," the brunette muttered in annoyance, giving the grasshead a look of aggravation.

"That's fine," said Solidad. The salmon-haired Coordinator leaned in toward May—Drew found it somewhat shocking that the both of them were almost as tall as each other now, even if he should have expected it—and seemed to whisper something into her ear. As Solidad pulled away, a small smile graced May's lips as she nodded. "Good luck, you two. Just do what makes you feel comfortable," she added on before walking off to the throngs of people in the crowd to spectate the performance.

"Make sure you come in at the right time so you don't screw up or anything," Drew murmured in a low voice only May could hear. "You're doing the female vocals, obviously."

"Thanks, Mr. Obvious," she said sarcastically. "I'm fully aware of that, since Solidad did tell me. I don't need a reminder."

"Really? You're a pretty forgetful person, if you ask me," teased Drew, flicking his hair again. "I mean, you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself, especially in front of me."

"…Just shut up."

"If you say so, February."

May's eyes darted toward the DJ on the right side of room and nodded in approval, signalling to him that she was ready. He gave her a thumbs up as he held out three fingers in order to execute a countdown that would cue May in.

Three…

Two…

One…

"La la la la la," she sang, her voice wavering slightly due to her nervousness. She posed by shooting a hand up and raising her chin. "La la na na na." A few boys gave her wolf whistles as she placed her free hand on her hip and whipped her head around dramatically. "La la la la la." She turned around to face the audience. "La la na na na."

The music's pitch and volume gradually rose as the DJ spun the record. A few people let out whoops and whistles of recognition as the computerized music made by a synth blasted out of the boom boxes.

"Girl, I've been all over the world, looking for you," Drew vocalized in his smooth, clear voice as he directed his words to May, earning him several high-pitched shrieks from girls in the crowd. Pridefulness glinted off his emerald spheres as he took careful but confident steps toward her, smirking. "I'm known for taking what I think I deserve, and you're overdue."

He stopped his walking when he was only a few feet away from her. He could tell that she became uneasy as he neared her, which was just what he needed. "And if you listen, you can hear me through the radio in that bright white noise." He put a hand to his ear and leaned down to the cheering audience that was jumping and waving their arms to the music in accordance to the lyrics. "What I been missing in my life, what I been dreaming of, you be that girl. You be that girl. You be—"

"Everything you want so let me get up there. I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere. Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like," May finished for him, holding the last note. A flirty, playful look shone in her eyes as she made eye contact with Drew through the entirety of her part, replacing her initial insecurity. He felt his heart rapidly and intensely thumping against his rib cage.

Right as May cut off the last note, Drew immediately came in. "You make me feel that—"

"La la la la la," she picked up, her body turning to completely face Drew as she shimmied. By now, her voice was steady and even; she was finally getting her groove on and was lost in the music.

"You make me feel so—" He whirled around to face her as well, half-smiling seductively. He swore he saw her cheeks burn a faint pink.

"La la la la la," intoned May, twirling in her spot.

"You make me feel that—"

"La la la la la."

"You make me feel so—"

"La la la la la."

Drew spun on his heel in a 360-degree angle, flicked his hair, pointed a finger at May, and nodded to her in one swift motion. He received a chorus of whoops and shouts. "You, you make me feel that—

"Get a little closer to me, girl, and you'll understand," he sang, motioning with his finger for May to come near him. Giggling, she put one foot in front of the other, making her way toward Drew. "'Cause if you want a guy who knows what you need, well, then I'm your man."

May was only a mere few inches away from Drew when she came to a halt. He smirked; the close proximity was just what he needed. He moved in even closer to her, his lips only a short distance away from her ear, but far enough that his voice wasn't deafening to her eardrums. "And if I listen, I can hear you through my radio in that bright white noise." He was toying with one of her gorgeous brunette locks by twirling it with his finger. His wrist brushed against the nape of her neck, and he could feel how heated her skin was. "What I been missing in my life, what I been dreaming of, you be that girl. You be that girl. You be—"

"Everything you want so let me get up there. I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere. Tell me what you want so we can do just what you like." To Drew's displeasure, May quickly pulled away from him and looked toward the audience, but her eyes flashed over to him uncomfortably for a second. The faint pink that had been barely visible on her cheeks was now a much deeper shade of red.

Nonetheless, her rich, angelic voice was able to remain flawless, captivating all the people watching. "Ooh, everything you know, I'm flipping upside down. Take you 'round the world; you know I like it loud. Tell me what you want 'cause we can do just what you like."

Drew himself was slightly uncomfortable as well, but he did his best to keep his composure and equanimity. It almost felt like he knew he was doing something wrong when she had retracted from him, like the perfect moment had been wasted. He was utterly irked and annoyed beyond belief; she had just wasted such a precious moment.

But he wasn't going to let her get away with that. "You make me feel that—"

"La la la la la." Her voice rang in the air, the sound of the keyboard being played with each note she sang.

"You make me feel so—" Drew made an attempt to get closer to her as May bit her bottom lip. His swag had already returned to him along with his smug overconfidence. He was going to get her, destroy her, for ruining such an opportune moment.

"La la la la la." Her voice noticeably became unstable for a brief second. Drew didn't know if the audience had reacted in any sort of way to this—he had his undivided attention focused on May, after all—but he could visualize the slightly perplexed, maybe even worried, expressions on their faces at his and May's exchange.

"You make me feel that—" He was only a few feet away from her. Just a little more…

"La la la la la."

"You make me feel so—" Only one more step left…

"La la la la la."

Immediately, he reached for May's hand and spun her around, catching her off guard. Nevertheless, he was able to invoke a laugh from her, which was just what he needed to get her back in the swing of things right when the upbeat music picked up. "You make me feel that—"

"La la la la la."

Drew could hear the bliss in her voice return, which made his concerns dissipate and a smile grace his lips. "You make me feel so—"

"La la la la la." The merriment in her eyes was obvious, the skirt of her dress elegantly swinging side to side as she rocked her hips.

"You make me feel that—" Drew held her hand again and raised it to allow her to pirouette, despite having heels on.

"La la la la la." The centripetal force of her motion caused her hair to rise and spin along with her, a few tufts of the brown hair tickling her neck. A few strands touched his own face, and he was able to notice how her hair smelled wonderfully of strawberries.

"You make me feel so—"

"La la la la la."

Everything came to a standstill; May's whirling came to a halt right as Drew let go of her hand in order for her to execute her solo perfectly. He could feel the floor and his body vibrate as the synthesized note reverberated through the air.

"Put your hands up; put your hands up." May pumped a fist into the air and spread her legs apart, adding into the intended dramatic effect. "Let the lights drop; let the lights drop." She whipped her hair back as the spotlight shining down on her intensified and became more brilliant. "Make my world stop; make my world stop."

Suddenly, the music came to an abrupt pause and her and Drew's spotlights went off. And with that, silence engulfed the room.

"La la la la la," May interrupted the silence in a gentle, calm tone. "La la na na na."

The spotlights immediately returned as Drew and May came face-to-face with each other, pivoting on the balls of their heels, and chorused, "You make me feel that—"

"La la la la la," continued May, dancing cutely next to Drew as he made his way closer to her, the music now louder and more upbeat than it had previously been.

"You make me feel so—"

"La la la la la." The corners of the brunette's lips were tugging into an even wider smile than the one that was already plastered on her face.

She was having fun. With him: Drew Hayden. That was all that mattered.

"You make me feel that—" Drew couldn't help it. The way May's body enticingly moved to the beat, the way her eyes glowed with newfound happiness, the way her livelihood subconsciously encouraged the grasshead to dance along with her, the way he was being drawn to her: nothing could have been more perfect than this.

"La la la la la." She dragged Drew over to her, and as he stared at her with profound, deep emerald eyes, she tugged his arm.

Before he knew it, he was dancing alongside her.

"You make me feel so—"

"La la la la la. Oh, you make me feel that—" May impeccably hit the high note, causing the crowd to roar with glee.

"La la la la la," Drew picked up for her. He flushed a deep crimson as he noticed May's fingers entwined with his, though she was too preoccupied with entertaining the audience to give a care. But what was he going to complain? Like hell he was.

"Oh, you make me feel that—"

"La la la la la."

"Oh, you make me feel that—" May spun herself until her body was in contact with Drew's. He could tell that she hadn't been prepared to do that by the way her eyes dilated and a nervous, shy smile made its way onto her stunning face, making her lips all the more tempting, her breath tickling his neck. He was surprised by the notion as well, but he couldn't help but make note of how well her form fit against his…

"La la la la la." A plan immediately began to form and churn in his mind. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the only way he would be able to confess his feelings and make her realize what he had always felt for her through that thick skull of hers…

"Oh, you make me feel that—" She backed away from Drew, although she was still incredibly close to him.

"La la la la la," they ended together, singing in unison.

The strobe lights began flickering back to life, illuminating the room again. Everyone applauded, whooped, cheered, shouted, did anything to show their appreciation for the spectacular duet. In the corner of his eye, he made note of a broad smile creasing at Solidad's lips, a smile he had never seen her so proudly display.

"Well, Drew, maybe I just won't kill you."

Said grasshead cocked his head to the side to find May grinning at him. Drew flicked his hair and smirked. He couldn't help but feel prideful at how successful he was at impressing her. At least, that was the message she seemed to be conveying. "That's a relief. If you did kill me, I wouldn't have been able to give you this." He handed her a thornless red rose which he had gracefully pulled out from the inside pocket of his blazer.

She accepted it, and a blush grew on her neck. She gaped at it for about a minute, her expression showcasing awe. "This is for me?" she asked in disbelief, a twinge of joy evident in her voice, her smile, and her beautiful sapphire eyes.

"Take it as my thanks for doing this with me," he replied coolly, shrugging nonchalantly. "I admit, I was doubting you'd be able to do this at first. Looks like I was wrong."

May instantly narrowed her eyes at him. Oh, she was such a tease, but that was what made her so enjoyable to be around. "You were doubting me?"

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

May's orbs returned to normal, although he could tell that there was still a slight stiffness on her face. "…No. Not at all," she drawled, her brows furrowing for a fleeting moment, but the smile on her lips betrayed her.

She turned around and was about to make her way back to her friends—at least, that was what he presumed—until he placed a hand on her shoulder and spun her around. A startled expression formed on her face as she craned her neck back just a bit to meet Drew again. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

He stared at her for a remarkably long time as he considered the possibility. Maybe it was the adrenaline that was coursing through his entire being that overcame him. Maybe it was the inquisitive and quizzical look in her eyes that made the notion seem so tempting to do. Maybe it was simply because of how beautiful yet delicate she appeared that night that propelled him to do what he did.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

* * *

May couldn't determine what this feeling was. Her heart rate sped up and multiplied by ten, twenty, maybe even one hundred. The part of her neck that he had gently brushed with his wrist was still warm from his touch, the remains of his heat lingering in that area. Her fingers were itching to interlace with his again (although she was unaware of it on stage until Drew had released her hand), despite feeling incredibly dithery and antsy just thinking about it. She longed for him to play with her hair the way that he did and breath on her cheek like he did during the performance. Singing with him was such an amazing experience in itself.

But the one thing that caused her to melt like a bar of chocolate under the sunlight of a hot summer day was… that last thing he did. Sure, he gave her a rose, even if he usually gave them to Beautifly, but she had already become accustomed to receiving those even at the age of ten. That kiss, though… What was that about?

_Could he possibly…_ May mentally smacked herself. _No, that's impossible. Of course he doesn't feel that way._

The way his lips had so gently pressed onto her forehead had her stomach lurching several times, and as he did so, she couldn't help but realize how heavenly they felt. It was almost like everyone who had their eyes peeled on them the whole time wasn't even present, and her entire world consisted of only her, Drew, and absolutely nothing else. Static electricity seemed to bounce across the area of contact, and she couldn't help but caress that spot every so often. The sensations she had been experiencing were the most awkward yet ideal of sensations she had ever come across; she had never been as homeostatic and uncomfortable in her life than she had in that one moment of her life.

"May!"

The brunette snapped her head up at the sound of her name and made eye contact with a pair of ocean blue eyes that were identical to her own and silky blueberry locks. May was somewhat startled, and once she recovered from her state of slight shock, she put on a smile for the blunette and the rest of her friends. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"What's up?" Dawn echoed, her mouth agape. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Drew gave you a rose and kissed you! Of course something is up!"

"I swear, May, Drew's got it for you bad." Misty smirked at her and crossed her arms. "Seriously, if you can't realize it by now, you are _so_ blind."

"It's the only reason why he'd do that, you know," Leaf pointed out, wearing an equally smug and playful expression as her two other friends. "It's the only thing I can think of."

"Wha…?" May said in alarm as she blushed. "No, Drew and I aren't anything like that! We're just rivals, okay?" she exclaimed frantically, waving her hands in front of her faces.

"Then why did Drew kiss you?" Dawn asked tauntingly, raising an eyebrow. "I dare you to give me a good enough reason why."

"Because… because…" May stuttered, furrowing her brows in deep thought. She needed an excuse to think of, a reasonable excuse that they could believe. But what could she possibly say to them? Maybe they were right about Drew… Were they?

"Hah! I knew it! You're just denying it!" Dawn exclaimed victoriously, pointing an accusing finger at May. "All we need is for you to return his feelings and you guys can finally be together!"

"Dawn, I'll kill you!" May threatened as her blush reddened and she tightened her clutch on the stem of her rose, glaring at the blunette, her teeth gritted.

Dawn was about to open her mouth again just when high-pitched shrieks erupted from the crowd.

All four girls swiveled around, only to see a horde of hyped and squealing fangirls crowding near the podium, each one trying to shove one another away. May found the matter peculiar, so her eyes trailed away from the mob and to what they were gawking at. There was a turquoise-eyed man with identically colored hair on which was a white cap. A white cape flowed down to his ankles, the collar styled in a vampire-like fashion. All in all, he was a rather handsome man.

"Hey, that's Wallace!" exclaimed Dawn, almost like she had forgotten all talk about Drew—that was a relief to May. She rushed up and, staying a good distance away from the crazed females, waved to him.

Wallace seemed to catch the greeting as he pried his eyes off of his fans and to Dawn. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes as he seemed to have found her, a smile gracing his lips as he did so, and he waved back at her.

"You know him?" May asked the blunette as she made her way back.

"Yeah," Dawn replied. "Ash, Brock, and I met him sometime before the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh."

Before May could give her a response, Wallace cleared his throat to attract their attention and shush the crowd. He motioned to the fangirls to kindly quiet down, which they seemed to gladly oblige to. His eyes surveyed the room, examining each and every face, before he spoke. "Thank you for everyone who has gathered here today to celebrate such a grand event. Normally, I'd give a speech to show my appreciation for this wonderful occasion dedicated to me and how touched I am, but under our current circumstances, I don't see the point.

"As many of you know, this afternoon, a tragic incident occurred in New Bark Town, Johto, and due to it, we lost such a monumental and extraordinary figure in the Coordinating world, Marina Brooks."

Suddenly, the silence became uncomfortable as a forlorn look crossed everyone's faces. May was on the verge of tears, and she could feel the liquid collecting in her eyes as all the memories she had so desperately tried to forget all came rushing back to her. A pang of despondence hit her chest hard.

"Marina had a successful career as both a Pokémon Idol and a Top Coordinator. It was saddening to know that she had passed away to me, and I'm sure it is to each and every one of you, too. She was a model for many aspiring Top Coordinators, and her music invigorated and lifted our spirits with her beautiful voice. Right now, I would like to devote a moment of silence to mourn her death."

May fixated her gaze on the floor, not wanting to look up in case the tears would begin pouring out. The excitement of the after-party made her forget not only the task at hand, but Marina as well. The mirth she had undergone throughout the entire festivity was suddenly lost. The world suddenly seemed gloomy with haze for the umpteenth time that day.

But there was never a chance that she would ever give up. She needed to avenge Lyra's and Marina's deaths. And the only way to do so was to find out who the perpetrator was, put an end to this, and solve the case, making sure no one else died in the process. She missed home; she knew her friends missed home. But this had to be done before they could even think about relaxing.

Disrupting the silence, Wallace chuckled, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "I don't mean to cause everyone to be depressed, but I felt like it was only necessary to make sure Marina receives the attention she deserves." A bittersweet smile appeared on his face. "Anyways, shall we lighten the mood?" He snapped his fingers in the DJ's direction.

In a matter of seconds, the strumming of an acoustic guitar began playing a slow, soothing melody, and everyone returned to their chatter, although May could sense unease in the atmosphere. Several couples were dancing on the dance floor along with the music.

"Hey, May, do you care to dance with me?"

The four girls flipped their heads around to find Drew, who was holding his hand out to said brunette. May flicked her gaze over at her friends, who were giggling like crazy, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she turned back to the grasshead. Sure, she knew that she would have to go through another embarrassing teasing session if she agreed to Drew's offer, but she didn't have the courage to turn him down. Breaking his heart didn't seem like a plausible option to her right now.

Plus, it would allow her a good view of the area, and she'd be able to pick up on any suspicious behavior more easily this way. She could actually use this to her advantage.

Smiling at him sweetly, she placed her hand in Drew's and said, "Sure."

Drew's face lit up as he took May to the dance floor. He placed his hands on her sides as she gripped onto his neck. They swayed along to the beat with Drew guiding her every movement.

_'Cause I wanna wrap you up  
Wanna kiss your lips  
I wanna make you feel wanted  
And I wanna call you mine  
Wanna hold your hand forever  
And never let you forget it  
Yeah, I, I wanna make you feel wanted_

She fixed her eyes on his face as she observed his every feature. His cheekbones seemed relaxed and at ease, and the twinkle in his emerald eyes reflected the felicity that was evident. His lips were pressed into a line as he bored into May's sapphire spheres, but she could tell that he was trying to hold back the smile that threatened to curl. His hair remained in the same glamorous style it always was, and May suddenly felt the urge to lace her fingers in his chartreuse locks and—

"May, did you hear me?"

May snapped out of her trance as realization that Drew had been trying to get her attention dawned on her. She forced out a laugh and said, "Oh, sorry, Drew. I was just busy—"

"Admiring my gorgeously perfect face? I thought you were," he interrupted smugly. "I'm just too irresistable."

"No!" barked May in as low of a voice as she could, even if he was right; there was no way she was ever going to admit such a thing to him, though. Scrunching her nose, she continued, "I was just thinking about things."

"What things?" questioned Drew. May could detect genuine curiosity in his voice, which she wasn't exactly expecting from him.

"You know, school stuff," she lied casually. "I was just wondering how things will be next semester."

Drew sighed in frustration. "You're seriously thinking about those kind of things right now? May, we're at a Contest after-party. Just loosen up and have fun."

"Hey, I can't help but be worried about my grades, okay?" May refuted, eyeing him hostilely. "I actually care if I make it to junior year or not."

"Won't you make it as long as you get a decent-enough grade?" Drew pointed out. "That should be all that matters to you if you just want to pass."

"I actually try, Drew."

"There's no point if all you want to do is make it."

May opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it close before a word could come out. After all, what could she say to that? Drew always found some way to corner her in every quarrel they had.

"…Whatever," she finally said, her voice bitter. "Just mind your own business."

"How can I mind my own business when it involves you? We're dancing together." His stupid arrogance was smeared all over his unblemished face, which only angered May even further. Why did he always have to be right?

"Can we just get this over with?" May complained. "You're already annoying the freak out of me."

"Just try to have fun, October," he reminded, winking at her.

May huffed in annoyance, all the while keeping her eyes wide open and inspecting everything going on around her.

* * *

Solidad situated her right leg over her left one as she basked under the dim lighting of the moon and rested her head against the tree trunk. The night was chilly but surprisingly lovely, the stars twinkling like a lively city at such a time, disregarding the clamorous commotions that would often occur. She tapped her fingers on her lap as she strained her ears to listen to the music coming from the Contest Hall.

_As good as you make me feel  
I wanna make you feel better  
Better than your fairy tales  
Better than your best dreams  
You're more than everything I need  
You're all I ever wanted  
All I ever wanted_

After the mourning of Marina's death, Harley had taken her outside and told her to wait for him; apparently, he had a surprise for her, but he had accidentally left it in the locker room during the Contest, so he'd rushed back over there. Solidad was somewhat interested and anxious about seeing what his gift was, and she was filled with excitement.

Her thoughts then shifted to Drew and May as she smiled to herself. It had seemed like their plan had worked out perfectly. It was true that he never told her about the kiss, but she believed that it was a sweet act, despite how shocked she was when he did it. In fact, everyone in the room was. Hopefully, this would be the start of something new between the two of them. She could already see the front cover of Pokémon magazines with gossip regarding their possible newfound relationship, and no sooner after that, the same magazines confirming their status as a couple.

Suddenly, she felt gloved hands thrust her away from the tree to the nearby grass. It wasn't the best of landings, but the terrain consisted of packed dirt, giving her a somewhat smooth fall. She pushed herself up with one hand but hit the ground again, grunting. This person's hand was painfully forceful against her clavicle, but she did her best to resist the aching. Her crystal blue orbs eyed her assaulter in an attempt to determine who this person was, but he wore a face mask that concealed everything except for his eyes, but the darkness around her shrouded them. She could tell that this person was completely clothed with black apparel, which made him blend in with the darkness.

Her instinct was to struggle out of this person's grasp, but she knew that doing so could possibly end up suffocating her, considering that the hand could easily jerk upward in one movement and position itself into a choke hold. Any attempts to land a punch or a kick would be futile… unless she waited for the right moment.

Despite her sudden confidence, panic and horror were still able to surmount her entire being. She clenched her teeth under the perpetrator's intimidating gaze as the person cackled, which only further enraged and terrified her at the same time. She was able to pick up a deepness in the voice that told her that this person was a male.

"What do you want?" hissed Solidad as menacingly as she could.

"Why would I tell you?" A small movement in his mouth region made it obvious that his lips had pulled into a smirk. "Don't hesitate to do it. Just pull the trigger and finish this."

Solidad didn't understand what those words meant, but it wasn't like it mattered that she did. She needed to escape. The only thing she had to do before she could was a perfect opening for her to strike.

Another black-clad figure approached her with what she thought was a pistol in his hand, and her breath hitched in her throat as even more fear overwhelmed her. She gulped in a shaky breath, wondering if this would be the last time she would ever have the chance to know what fresh air felt like.

"I'll do anything," she croaked in despair, tears brimming her eyes. At this point, she was absolutely hopeless. "Just please make sure you don't kill anyone dear to me. If anyone should die, it should be me. I can't live knowing that one of the closest people to me is… gone." She cringed at the mere thought of that.

"Oh, really?" the first shady character said. She could tell that the interest in his tone was phony. He turned to his companion. "Do it."

As she tried to land a kick to his chest with her high-heeled foot, her last thoughts were of Drew, May, and Harley as she heard the bullet shoot.

_You'll always be wanted_

* * *

She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

She held back a gasp and clasped her mouth shut with her hand. Tears were gathering in her eyes. The terror going through her was so overpowering that her knees buckled, causing her to fall to the ground.

She had only intended to sit near a tree and enjoy the refreshing outdoor air before heading back to the after-party. The front lobby was awfully crammed with people, and she needed a breather. It wasn't her fault that she was claustrophobic. But after what she had just seen, she was much more than willing to have suffered through her phobia instead of taking a peek at the horrid sight.

Solidad had died. Solidad Saori, one of the most renowned and notorious of Top Coordinators, one of the many figures she looked up to, had lost her life right in front of her own eyes.

She should have done something about it. She had heard conversation from somewhere behind her back, but she hadn't paid it any mind for she had assumed that there were just a couple people casually chatting. She had jolted out of her ignorance when she heard the gunshot. Now, all she hoped was that it wasn't too late.

_It isn't_, she told herself. It was impossible. She couldn't believe that Solidad had died. She didn't want to believe that Solidad had died.

As the salty water began streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls, she sprinted back to the Contest Hall in the hopes that she could find help.

* * *

**Uh… so I didn't do a weekly update right after I announced that I would. Hehe, sorry, guys. I had plane flights all last weekend and suffered through hunger pains and severe stomachaches, so obviously, I had absolutely no time and inspiration to write. Just know that I'll try to update weekly, but life gets in the way sometimes, you know. This might explain why the quality of this chapter isn't as great as the quality of the previous ones; I'm still going through jet lag, but at least it's not so bad anymore.**

So a lot of Contestshipping and a lot of plot development! And, uh, feel free to sue me. (Please don't.) My late Contestshipping Day contribution (yeah, I'm incredibly sad and lame)! x( By the way, who do you think the girl in the last scene was? I'm kind of interested to know what you think. ;)

But seriously, I can't believe I killed her… I just can't believe I killed Solidad… And I loved her so much! Ugh, Marina's and Solidad's deaths were so painful for me to write. :(

Songs used: "You Make Me Feel…" by Cobra Starship feat. Sabi and "Wanted" by Hunter Hayes.

Reviews are greatly appreciated! :D


	12. Chapter 11: Tragic

**Chapter 11: Tragic**

* * *

_Saturday, 9:15 PM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

"Come on, May! Just ask him out already!" Dawn began pushing May in the direction of Drew, but the brunette was attempting to resist her friend's incessant shoving. There was no way she was going to concede to this.

"Dawn, I already told you that I don't like Drew!" protested May, digging her shoes into the carpet as hard as she could—it proved to be a challenging task with heels, but it was rather effective nonetheless.

Someone placed his or her hands on May's shoulders and spun her around, causing her to come face-to-face with two pairs of jade spheres. Equally smug expressions were plastered on Misty's and Leaf's faces. May's shoulders drooped down as she gave both of them blank looks. "Please tell me that you're on my side," she pleaded, slightly irked.

Misty exchanged a mischievous glance with Leaf. "Well, I usually don't like Dawn's plans…"

"…But I'm with her this time—I'm sure Misty is as well." Leaf seized May's wrist and tugged at it in what the lighter brunette assumed was an attempt to drag her to Drew.

May pulled her arm back, but when that didn't work, she pried Leaf's fingers off of her wrist. "Stop it!" she exclaimed, frustrated by their antics. "How would you guys feel if I was doing it to you?"

"Who would you try and ask out for us?" questioned Leaf, raising her brows quizzically.

"Gary, Ash, and Paul." May crossed her arms victoriously and smirked. "And I'm pretty sure you guys know who's with who."

Leaf's and Misty's cheeks began burning a bright red while Dawn blinked, confused. May stifled a giggle at their confounded looks; she knew that she had cornered them.

"I don't like Gary!" complained Leaf, her voice venomous. "I don't know why we even have that stupid bet going on or why he even wanted it or why I even agreed to it!"

"Oh, so you wish you never agreed to it so you can kiss him without losing any money, right?" teased May.

Leaf's features reddened even further to a dark shade of crimson. "I don't freaking like Gary, okay, May? Arceus…" She sighed frustratingly and ran a hand through her hair.

"So now you know how I feel when you guys keep teasing me about Drew, right?" reproved May, placing her hands on her hips. Before anyone could speak up, she directed her attention to Dawn. "And what's up between you and Paul? You guys seem to know each other pretty well."

"I only know him because he and Ash were rivals! We're not really friends!" reprimanded Dawn. "I don't know him that well."

"Well, you guys spend an awful amount of time together for two people who are 'not really friends'," quipped May. "As for Misty, whatever's between her and Ash is pretty self-explanatory."

As all eyes went to the redhead, Misty gulped under their gazes and forced out a timid smile, running her fingers over the ocean blue skirt portion of her dress nervously. May's boastfulness crumpled into instant sorrow and regret for her prideful actions; she didn't realize that she had probably hit a matter that was sensitive for Misty. May wanted to take back her words and tell her friend that she didn't mean what she said, but she felt like an apology would come off as insincere.

But what else could she say to comfort the redhead? After all, something was better than silence.

"Misty, I'm—"

She waved a hand at the brunette and giggled lightheartedly. Her façade didn't completely mask her anguish, however. "It's okay, May. It was about time you guys found out anyway…"

May gave Misty a comforting hug, squeezing her gently. Pulling back from the embrace, May said, "We're your friends, Misty. We're here for you."

"She's right, you know," Dawn added on. "I'm sure May didn't mean to offend you."

Before Misty could respond, the front doors of the Contest Hall slammed open and in came an amaranth-haired girl, about the same age as May, in a white strapless feather tight short dress with a sweetheart neckline, the bodice a shimmery gold color that faded at the edges. But that wasn't the first thing about the familiar girl that piqued May's attention.

Her cheeks were blotched with trails of tears. She let out bated breaths, her chest moving up and down unsteadily, and released an ear-splitting outburst of pain.

Everyone turned around to scrutinize the person who had rudely interrupted the party as all chatter quickly died down. A few people sent her nasty looks while others perked their brows at her, confused. The DJ muted the music so the attention would be centered on her. The only noise in the almost-silent environment was the heavy panting coming from the girl.

No one spoke for a moment. Everyone was giving her incredulous looks while she gave one of panic. Then…

"Brianna?" May called out, furrowing her brows. She suddenly felt a million pairs of eyes flickering over to her and evaluating her. Ignoring the attention, May sauntered over to Brianna, leaving her three perplexed friends behind her. She would've greeted the redhead and told her how ecstatic she was to see her, but this was obviously not the time. Something was wrong if she was crying. "Brianna, what's the matter?"

Brianna turned her head around to face May. A spark of recognition lit up in her turquoise eyes, but it was obscured by clear agony. She whimpered dolefully, her lips quivering.

"Brianna, what's wrong? You can tell me. I can try to help."

She shook her head, sniffling. "It's impossible, May. You can't help her. Solidad's…" Her words were interrupted when a wail escaped her lips and she fell into May's arms, another round of tears sloshing onto her cheeks and, this time, the brunette's dress.

May rubbed Brianna's back up and down soothingly, hoping that it would lift her mood, at least in the slightest. She couldn't help but feel concern rising in her, her heart rate thudding loudly against her rib cage. "What about Solidad?"

"May, what's up?"

Her sapphire eyes flitted in the direction of the voice and identified it as Drew's. He was approaching them with caution. The way his body stiffened as he came up to them clearly showed that he was trying to conceal the afflicted emotions that were threatening to surface. He clenched and unclenched his fists before stuffing his hands into his pockets. His emerald orbs darted from May and then to Brianna before returning back to the brunette. "Is something wrong?"

May grimaced, her eyes returning to the girl in her hands. "Brianna said that something happened to Solidad."

Drew put all his weight on his right leg, his brows creasing. "What about Solidad?"

"I don't know," she replied softly. "Brianna, what happened to Solidad?"

Brianna's body tensed against May's. Her hold on the brunette tightened as she looked away. May continued to eye her, hoping to get an answer from her, but she refused to speak up. What about this was holding her back?

After a short period of awkward silence, Brianna released her grip on May and locked her eyes with the brunette's light blue irises ruefully. She continuously stared at them until she hung her head, the salty liquid pouring down at a slower rate now, and whispered, "Solidad…" She grinded her teeth together, an action that seemed out of place. "Just look yourself. I…" She sprinted away from May, bawling as she ran to a corner and huddled herself into a ball.

The bystanders gave Brianna a quick glance before returning to their idle conversations, dismissing what had just occurred. May noticed Wallace and Mr. Contesta rushing to the sobbing girl, crouching down and saying something to her. She let out a sigh that she didn't know she was holding as she no longer felt anyone's eyes on her.

May was about to rush to Brianna's side when a hand gripped onto her arm and pulled her back. She was whirled around before coming face-to-face with Drew. Narrowing her eyes at him, she spat, "What do you want? I need to help Brianna!"

"She's just gonna push you away," Drew pointed out bleakly. "Wallace and Mr. Contesta are already there anyways. Plus, she'd probably want you to go see Solidad."

Drew made a point: seeing Solidad would be the wiser option. Nevertheless, a part of her felt the need to comfort Brianna and tell her that everything would be all right. But how could she possibly comfort her when she didn't know what had happened?

"Fine. I'll go." May tried to tear her arm from Drew's grasp, but his hold on her was too tough. She tried to draw her arm back again, but just like her previous attempt, it was unsuccessful. She glowered at the grasshead and hissed, "Hey, I thought you were the one who told me to go find Solidad."

"I'm coming with you," he stated briskly. "Solidad's my friend, too. I wanna know what happened to her."

May eyed him for a short second before nodding in consent. "Okay then." She stalked past Drew as he trailed behind her.

She pushed the doors open and filled her lings with the invigorating outdoor air that was strangely mixed with another gruesome stench that ruined the freshness of the atmosphere. Darkness washed over the surroundings, the moon the only source of light. The wispy gray cirrus clouds drifted in the night sky, covering some of the twinkling stars that were beginning to unveil themselves. Trees dotted the lush grass here and there and bushes lined the walkway leading to the Contest Hall. May inspected the area for Solidad–

And found her limp, bloody body sagging against the bark of a tree.

May's heart felt like it had struck her chest violently, almost as if it were going to leap out, and ceaselessly repeated that several times. Her knees buckled underneath her as realization hit her like a rock being bashed into her skull. She attempted to get back onto her feet, but as she rose from her kneeling position, her legs collapsed again. The shock was much too overwhelming for her to handle.

_This is a dream_, she told herself, blinking several times. Not just to force back the tears that were gathering in her eyes, but the realization. The actuality. The mere possibility.

Solidad couldn't have just died. May didn't want to believe it.

_This is a dream._

Drew helped her up by holding onto her sides and lifting her back up. She steadied herself, his grip still fastened on her. May spared a glimpse at his face and noted the watery liquid that was brimming his eyes, a crestfallen look evident on his face. She had seen him sporting troubled expressions in the past, but this one was worse. Far worse than any of the others she had seen.

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice cracking. May nodded, unable to speak. She knew that it was a complete lie, though. She was anything but okay.

_This is a dream._

Drew slowly let go of May, but he kept his hands hovering near her, probably so he could catch her if her legs gave out again. Knowing that he was following her, she stumbled toward Solidad, trying to keep her balance, and fell to the ground when she was at the coral-haired Coordinator's side. Her eyes were half open, revealing her blue orbs, whose life was rapidly draining. A droplet trickled down the brunette's cheek, and May quickly wiped it away.

She placed her hands firmly on Solidad's shoulders and shook her gently. "Wake up, Solidad," she mumbled. "Wake up."

Solidad's eyelids raised, but May could easily tell that doing so proved to be a burden. A bittersweet smile graced her face. "May…" she breathed raggedly.

A sudden spark of hope surged through May. Solidad was still living. That was all that mattered right now.

"Solidad, Drew and I are gonna get some help," articulated May, the words almost refusing to come out of her dry mouth. She gulped and squeezed Solidad's hand before continuing. "You'll be just fine."

The older female chuckled insouciantly. "Any attempt to get me to the hospital will be vain, May. It's not worth your time."

May shook her head furiously, not believing anything Solidad was saying. How could she so easily give up like this and seem perfectly fine with it? "I'm gonna do anything to make sure you'll be okay." She pulled out her PokéNav, dialed a number, and put the device to her ear.

"Stay strong, Solidad," moaned Drew, his voice filled with distress. He was holding onto her hand, tears sliding down his cheeks and pelting the ground. "Don't leave us."

As she heard ringing from the other end, Wallace came running out of the Contest Hall and approached Solidad. He gasped at the sight in front of him, astonishment evident in his eyes, frown creasing on his lips. May placed her unoccupied fingers on Solidad's neck, checking for a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief as the felt the light beating of her heart. At least blood was still circulating through her.

"May, I've already called for help," said Wallace firmly. "No need to call again. The ambulance should be here soon."

May nodded wordlessly and closed her PokéNav. By now, she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Her fingers still felt blood pumping through Solidad's veins, but the rate at which it was doing so was slow, so slow that it was a shock that she was still alive. Tears burst out of her eyes when May realized what was going to happen.

Solidad wasn't going to make it in time.

_This is a dream._

"All of this… is unnecessary," murmured Solidad hoarsely, shaking her head. "Please don't try."

"No!" shouted Drew, woeful. "Don't go! You're gonna be fine, okay? Just accept the fact that you'll be okay!"

May's eyes widened in shock. She had never heard Drew sound so hopeless in the six years she had known him. But it wasn't like she had ever felt this hopeless in her own life either. She couldn't blame him for feeling such a way. She knew how much Solidad meant to him. He always saw her as an older-sister figure and an inspiration to reach bigger heights and hone his Coordinating skills. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have continued to strive to become a Top Coordinator, which he was now, and would have given up on that dream instead. Solidad played a special part in Drew's life.

And he was about to lose it.

"Solidad, there you are!"

May turned around to determine who had called out Solidad's name, but cringed when she saw the person making his way over. She didn't want to think about what his reaction would be once he saw what had happened. When people around her were hurt, it would only cause the ache in her heart to throb painfully. And considering these circumstances…

Harley dashed toward them, a giddy smile on his face as he skipped toward them, holding something in his hand. He immediately came to an abrupt halt when his eyes locked onto Solidad's bloody body. The object in his hand, a velvet box, clattered onto the floor as he fell onto his knees and tears streamed down his horror-struck face. "No… no, no, no, no, no!"

May never thought she'd do as kind of an act for Harley in her life when she placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a forlorn look. "She'll be okay, Harley," she uttered through a sob. "She'll be okay."

"Solidad, stay with us," said Wallace. "The ambulance will be coming shortly. Stay strong. You're going to make it."

As if on cue, sirens could be heard from afar, causing May's heart to jump into her throat. All doubts about Solidad living instantly evaporated. She still had a chance. She might make it.

_No_, thought May. _She _will _make it._

"Guys…" whispered Solidad.

Everyone's heads whipped back to the pink-haired girl slumped against the tree. Her skin was paling and her eyelids were slowly closing. Panic enveloped May once again, her hands trembling.

"Don't try to talk, Solidad," said May, her lips quivering. She felt for a pulse again, but only felt an incredibly, painstakingly sluggish thumping. She used her other hand to grasp onto Solidad's hand, which felt severely cold to the touch. "Please, you gotta live."

"I just… wanna say… one thing," she groaned. May was about to interrupt her in order to get Solidad to stop talking, but she spoke anyways. "May, Drew, Harley… don't think about me too much… It'll only cause you guys… more pain."

"Solidad, you can't leave us!" insisted Drew, desperate. "You can't leave me…"

Solidad ran a hand through Drew's chartreuse hair, a bittersweet smile on her face. She whispered something to him that was inaudible to May before she closed her eyes.

As the ambulance parked near the Contest Hall, Solidad's chest stopped moving and May could no longer feel a beating.

She was gone. Solidad was really, truly gone.

May's mind went numb as she buried her head in Solidad's shoulder, bawling like a little kid.

* * *

_Saturday, 10:21 AM; Lilycove City, Hoenn_

"_We have a breaking news story coming from Lilycove City in the Hoenn region. It has been reported that Solidad Saori, a Top Coordinator from Pewter City, Kanto, and the most recent winner of the Wallace Cup, has been murdered by a duo of shady characters. I repeat: Solidad Saori has been murdered by a duo of shady characters. The identities of the perpetrators are currently unknown, but members of the International Police are already on their way there to investigate the murder._

"_According to Brianna Wakana, an eyewitness of the event, the voices of the two murderers have led people to the assumption that they are both males who are at least in their teenage years. Not much else is known about what happened and their possible motives are unclear. There have been suspicions that this murder is tied with two other murders that have occurred today–Lyra Kotone in Viridian City, Kanto, and Marina Brooks in New Bark Town, Johto–but whether that is correct or not hasn't been confirmed, for there is a lack of evidence to prove it."_

Misty turned off the television right as the Contest Hall in Lilycove City came into view on the screen. Sighing, she ran a tired hand through her curly ginger tresses, a somber look plastered on not only her face, but Dawn's, Ash's, and even Paul's as well.

Following Solidad's death, Mr. Contesta had immediately evacuated everyone out of the Contest Hall, cutting the after-party short. Leaf and Gary had remained behind to interrogate Brianna further and inspect the scene, and although Dawn and Misty had wanted to help them out, Leaf had asked them to go back to the Pokémon Center along with Ash and Paul and try to console May and Drew, who had holed themselves in their respective rooms. Dawn had tried to confront and comfort May, but she had only told the blunette to leave her alone. Ash had taken a peek into the boys' room to talk to Drew, but right as he had knocked on the door, Drew had told him to go away.

The four of them decided that allowing May and Drew some time alone would be the best option, so they were waiting in the Pokémon Center until realization would sink in for them and they would calm down. Ash had tried to lighten the mood by turning on the T.V., although nothing decent was on at the moment. They had resorted to watching the news, but that had only made them feel even more remorseful. They could only imagine what May, Drew, and Harley were going through right now.

Those damn killers were at it again, murdering yet another girl and causing many people to suffer. Dawn balled her hands into fists and clenched her teeth. She and the rest of the girls had to do something about this, and soon. Now that Solidad was gone, it had left a permanent scar on May, just like how Lyra's death had left one on herself. But this one was far worse: May and Solidad were so close that they were almost like sisters, while she and Lyra didn't have as strong of a friendship as them.

"What are we gonna do?" murmured Ash, creasing his brows.

Misty blinked. "What are we supposed to do? May and Drew need to be alone for a while."

"But they're not gonna get any better if we just leave them, right?" Ash rose from his seat and began pacing back and forth. "I mean, if all they're doing is moping about Solidad, how is _that _going to help? They've been doing that for an hour already. We should really try and cheer them up."

"Ash, we can try in a little while," admonished Dawn. "They need some time to accept what happened."

There was a miserable look in his chocolate brown eyes, but nonetheless, he acquiesced. "I guess. But I just don't like seeing them so sad…"

"I know how you feel, Ash," agreed Misty solemnly. "From what I've heard, Solidad meant a lot to both of them. It must be hard to lose someone so close to you."

Nothing but silence was exchanged between the four of them until Ash stretched and yawned. "I'm gonna go get a snack to eat, since I think none of us had dinner. I don't really feel like eating anything, but I need to stay healthy, you know? There's nothing to do while we wait for May and Drew."

Misty stood up from her seat. "I'll come with you. I'm kind of hungry myself." She looked over at Dawn and Paul and asked, "Do you guys wanna come?"

Dawn waved a hand at her. "I'll wait here for Leaf and Gary so they know where to go once they get back here."

Paul only gave a small shake of the head.

With that, Ash and Misty headed to the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, leaving Dawn and Paul by themselves in the front lobby.

Right when Dawn thought that silence would be settling in, Paul spoke up. "I was thinking that you were going to side with Ash on that."

Dawn turned to him, surprised. She perked a brow at him, silently telling him to elaborate. She was quite startled by Paul talking, in fact. He had been so quiet the whole time that she almost forgot about him.

"What I mean is that I thought you were gonna keep trying to help out May and Drew, being the nice person you are," he stated rather nonchalantly. He tilted his head to the side to make eye contact with her sapphire eyes. "It just seems like something you'd do."

Dawn shrugged, although she was somewhat astounded that Paul had just called her a "nice person". "It just seems like leaving them alone would be the right thing to do. They need time to think about this. I mean, I've never been in their position before, but that's probably what I'd want, too. Time alone."

He didn't speak, but Dawn could tell that he had come to a consensus with her. It wasn't like she wasn't expecting him not to respond–he was the reserved type of person, after all.

Paul stood up and walked away. Dawn quickly got to her feet as well before he left and said, "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going outside for some fresh air," he answered tepidly, stopping in his tracks. He didn't look back at her, though.

"Oh."

"By the way," he suddenly piped up. He turned his full body around to face her. "Was Lyra your friend?"

His question caught her off guard, but she didn't see the harm in answering him. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just asking," he replied, turning back around. With that, he exited the Pokémon Center, leaving a nonplussed Dawn behind.

* * *

"…and I think that's it," finished Brianna, sighing.

"That's all you recall?" questioned Leaf. So far, she and Gary hadn't been able to get many answers from their only witness, which was quite disappointing. Sure, they had discovered something that could be potentially helpful–the perpetrators were two males who were at least teens–but nothing very useful.

"I didn't actually see it myself," she said. "I was sitting under a tree and I heard a gunshot that got my attention. I looked around and saw two guys who'd just… you know…" Brianna looked at the ground pensively.

Leaf gave Gary a dubious look. The brunet ran a hand through his tousled hair and said, "I guess that's all we have to ask you. You're free to go."

"Okay." Brianna lifted her head up to face Leaf, a mix of grief and bewilderment etched on her face. "By the way, why are you guys asking me these questions?"

Unknowing of what to say, Leaf looked to Gary for help, but he seemed just as clueless as she did. "Well, uh…" he began, his voice unsure. He didn't talk for a moment until his face brightened, almost like a lightbulb had lit up in his head. "My grandfather wants to do a special on his radio show talking about Solidad's death. He decided to ask me to get some information about it from you since, you know, you witnessed it yourself." He chuckled halfheartedly.

Leaf could sense that Brianna was skeptical about Gary's explanation, but she seemed to agree to it nonetheless. "Okay then. Oh, and you guys know May and Drew, right? Can you tell them I said hi? I didn't get to properly greet them back there."

"Sure," said Leaf warmly. "I think you can talk to them tomorrow morning if you're gonna spend the night here at Lilycove City."

A small smile managed to sneak its way onto Brianna's lips. "Thank you. I'll be going now." With that, she trudged past Leaf and Gary, taking the path that led into the heart of the city.

Leaf stared at Brianna as she walked away until the redhead was out of view. She whirled around and eyed Gary quizzically. "You're a pretty bad liar. I mean, I probably couldn't've thought of a better excuse, but that one was pretty lame. I'm surprised that she actually went along with it."

"I needed something. Okay, Leafy?" He sounded exasperated, but there was a humorous edge to his voice. "I know that Gramps would probably never have a section on his radio show about someone dying, but at least it was something."

"Whatever." Leaf rolled her eyes playfully, but then put on a serious expression. "Anyway, it seems like the perpetrators were a little clumsy with this murder if there was actually a witness. No one was present during Lyra's. I'm assuming no one was there during Marina's either or else Misty would've informed me about it when she had called me back in Viridian City."

"Yeah," acknowledged Gary. "It's a shame what happened to them both…"

"It is." Leaf cautiously walked up to Solidad's corpse and hunched forward, giving it a brief once-over. The body's condition and appearance seemed to have undergone the same torment that Lyra and Marina had went through: strangle marks around her neck and clavicle and a bullet shot straight to the chest. With each new death, the perpetrators still left no traces of evidence, which only caused the investigation to be much harder than Leaf wished it to be. Sure, there was an eyewitness this time, but Brianna wasn't exactly as useful as Leaf had hoped.

"Hey, Leaf, look at this."

Said brunette craned her neck upwards to find Gary standing in front of her, a velvet box in his hand. "What's in that?" she asked.

Gary opened the lid, a soft light glinting off of the box's contents. Leaf took the item out of the box, which he was holding out to her, and observed it under the dim moonlight. It was a ring made of sterling silver and layered with luxurious platinum, giving the piece of jewelry its brilliant shine. The metal curved at one side into a graceful heart, and on the left of it were two tiny, lustrous diamonds. Leaf turned it in her hand and read "Harley". She turned it around again in a 180-degree angle and saw "Solidad" engraved into it.

"It's a promise ring," concluded Leaf. "And I assume Harley was going to give it to Solidad?"

"It seems like it." Gary motioned toward the Contest Hall and back to the corpse. "I think Harley was inside to get it for her and Solidad was waiting for Harley to give it to her." He pressed his lips into a hard line. "Harley and Solidad were dating, weren't they? I guess the paparazzi's rumors can actually be right sometimes."

"It sounds logical." A thought suddenly struck Leaf. "Gary, how did you find out about Marina's death?"

"Gramps told me," he answered simply. "Plus, it was all over the news. You didn't see it?"

"No," said Leaf. Why would she raise any suspicions about this? Of course Professor Oak would've told him. Gary was the professor's grandson, after all. It also shouldn't come off as a surprise that a renowned figure's death would be talked about in the media. She had just been too preoccupied to check the internet or watch the news.

She massaged her temples in an attempt to clear her clouded mind. "Sorry, I'm just really frustrated about everything going on. The case is tough to carry on with the lack of information we have. Now with this, it's not just personal for Dawn, but May, too."

"Don't sweat it, Leaf," reassured Gary, kneeling down next to her. "You've got me and your friends trying to solve it along with you."

"Yeah, I know." Leaf sighed and ran her fingers through her brunette hair. "But I'm pretty sure you know what I mean when I say that the pressure of all this is really taking a toll on you, right?"

Some sort of emotion Leaf couldn't distinguish washed over Gary's face for a split second before his lips lowered into a frown. "I know exactly what you mean."

* * *

Drew hesitated, thinking over his decision. Was this the right thing to do?

His heart pumped in his chest and adrenaline worked its way throughout his body, his palms clammy. He was inwardly debating whether or not he should return to his room and hide under the shelter of his cocoon of sheets and blankets in his bed as he mourned Solidad's death, which was the safe thing to do, or knock the door and mourn Solidad's death with her instead, which was the right thing to do.

_Damn it_, he thought. _Damn it all_.

He knocked on the door to the girls' room somewhat louder than what he had intended, but he didn't care. The twinge of guilt and sorrow was painfully throbbing inside of him. He thought that he had everything he wanted when he had kissed May's forehead after their performance, but he was completely wrong. His dreams were meaningless without Solidad. The damned world was meaningless without Solidad.

Drew wasn't sure if May had given him consent to enter the room, but he didn't bother to ask. He pushed the door open and strode into the darkened room, the moonlight streaming through the window providing the only illumination. He saw her lying on one of the beds, her face stuffed into a dampened pillow.

He made his way over to May and settled himself on the bed next to her while keeping his distance from her. The brunette's sapphire orbs peeked from the pillow and found Drew's emerald spheres, her clutch on the pillow tightening. Drew mustered a half-smile, which she returned, but neither was genuine.

They lay next to each other on the bed for some time, neither one of them speaking up. It felt like the silence was comforting as it was, but being next to her somehow soothed him. Why it did, he wasn't sure.

"Drew, did you come here to see me?" squeaked May, her voice muffled.

His eyes darted over to her. "Yeah," he responded. "Ash came in earlier to try to make me feel better, but I just wanted to be alone then. But now that I've been thinking about it, being alone isn't actually helping at all, so I decided to find someone. But I don't want it to be Ash or Paul or whatever. They wouldn't understand what I'm going through, so–"

"You decided to find me," finished May. She had pushed the pillow away from her face, but her hands were still gripping onto it.

He bit his bottom lip. "Right."

May softly sighed. "Drew, do you think that things will get better soon, even without Solidad?" She stared at him with unease. "I mean, will we ever get over it?"

"I don't know, May," said Drew. He wanted to tell her yes, everything will get better, but he didn't completely believe that himself. Saying that aloud would almost be like trying to convince himself with his own words. "People say that time heals wounds, though. We can only wait and see."

No one spoke for a while. Drew reflected back on earlier events regarding Solidad, especially the last words she had whispered into his ear.

_"You need strong women like May in your life."_

He understood what Solidad had implied in those words: he needed May in his life, especially during such dire times like these. His feelings for her were only becoming stronger each day and his longing for her grew along with them. But how could he ever be satisfied with his life without the one person who inspired him and pushed him to be a better person? How could he ever be fine with the knowledge that he would never see Solidad again?

At that moment, he realized one thing: life could do such terrible things to you.

"Why did it have to happen, Drew?" May whimpered. "Why did she have to die? Everyone says that Arceus does things for a reason, but why did _this _have to happen? This shouldn't have happened!"

May buried her head in Drew's chest as she let out another round of sobs and wails. She wrapped her arms around him and cried on his shirt. He rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly, but he knew just that wouldn't help her feel better.

He had never been in a situation like this before–not to mention with a girl. He didn't know what he should be doing, so he let his instincts take over.

Drew returned May's embrace and gently placed his chin on her head. He kissed her silky brown tresses as tears began trickling down and sloshing onto her hair.

"I'm here for you, May," he murmured. "I always will be."

* * *

**I actually had this chapter done a few hours ago, but the internet was down so I couldn't post it. Other than that, this chapter did take me longer than I thought, even if I already had a clear outline of everything that would happen. I was really trying to put in as much emotion as I could into this chapter, but I probably failed. Any criticism on how it could be better is much appreciated.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Special shout-out to Fprmr1! Girl, I can't stop thanking you about how grateful and appreciative I am. **

**Another special shout-out to Meganium, PrincessVictory, and eeveeluvr for correctly guessing who the girl is! I think next chapter will be Brianna's last appearance, but I'll have to see.**

**I feel so bad for May and Drew… And I usually don't feel bad for the characters when I write it. :(**

**Thanks for reading! Hey, I'm almost at 100 reviews! I didn't expect to reach this far so soon in the story... Let's see if I'll reach it with this chapter! :D**

**- Sissy**


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